Canadian Economy : The looming collapse / Advantage to the Emerging Markets

Hello Friends,
I'm on track with my 2015 year predictions on the looming collapse of the Canadian economy.
Please review my blog - Dec-2014 : Rahul's Cafe Canadian

We are looking for a number of signs / indications that resemble a slow motion train wreck.
These are the leading indicators, not in any particular order, as I have discussed before :
1. Collapse in the support prices of the metals, minerals, petroleum & gas.
2. Layoffs in the resources industry aggregating to about 100k workers or more in a short time frame of about 2 years.
3. Collapse / devalue in the exchange rate of the Canadian Dollar vs the US Dollar to about 30% or more during the last 1 year.
4. Decline in the TSX stock market from its all time high in aug-2014 of 15,625 about 1 year ago, about a 12% decline so far. This trend will continue as most blue chip companies post results of falling sales and adopt cost cutting measures.
5. Household debt is at all time high with consumers piling on more unsecured debt as consumers are encouraged by low rates of interest and low monthly payments.
6. Housing Sector has had a mini correction in Alberta due to the large layoffs over there. Home prices are strong in the GTA and Greater Vancouver area, there is a lot of new immigrant first home buys, which are driving the market prices in these areas, however once the impact of layoffs and weaker economy become apparent, this market may start to cool down in the next 1-2 years as well.

Money & Capital are very liquid & in this day & age will move international borders to seek the best returns. Canada is not the "flavour of the month" anymore.
Take a look at the news items, its scary, but that's the hard reality: 

Money is flooding out of Canada at the fastest pace in the developed world

Financial Post - ‎Nov 2, 2015‎

Money is flooding out of Canada at the fastest pace in the developed world as the nation's decade-long oil boom comes to an end and little else looks ready to take the industry's place as an economic driver. Canada's basic balance — a measure of ...

Money Flooding Out of Canada at Fastest Pace in Developed World

Bloomberg - ‎Nov 1, 2015‎

More recent data on where companies and mutual-fund investors are putting their money show the trend extended into the second half of the year, suggesting demand for the Canadian dollar and the country's assets is still ebbing. The currency is already ...

Investors abandoning Canadian assets

Advisor.ca - ‎56 minutes ago‎

As the oil boom comes to an end, “money is flooding out of Canada at the fastest pace in the developed world,” reports Bloomberg. This is evident, Bloomberg adds, if you look at Canada's basic balance, which it explains as a measure of national ...

Money Flows Out Of Canada At Top Speed As Manufacturing Hits Record Low

Huffington Post Canada‎ - 23 hours ago

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India & the Emerging Markets

As previously discussed in my blog before : India Passes China to Become Fastest-Growing Economy - 2015 trends // Proof of India's rise again...
India is selling like "hot cakes" & will continue to be the "flavour of the month" for the next 5 years.
Everyone is lining up to put their money in where they can have maximum sustained growth for the next 5-10 years.
Canadian Pension Funds are also heading towards India for a higher growth.
If you have a defined benefit pension plan with your company, don't be surprised, if its already invested in India or planning to start investing there now.
Take a look at these news items :

Canada's pension fund ready to invest $2B in affordable housing in ...
CBC.ca-Nov 1, 2015
Canada's pension fund is ready to invest $2 billion in affordable housing in ... and has already committed to invest more than $2 billion in India.
Canada pension fund ready to invest $2 bln in Mumbai housing ...
Reuters-Oct 31, 2015
Canadian pension fund looking to invest $2 bn in affordable housing ...
Livemint-Oct 31, 2015
Canada Pension Fund Ready to Invest $2 Bn in Mumbai Housing ...
NDTV-Oct 31, 2015

Explore in depth (169 more articles)


Financial Times
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Opens Investment Office in ...
Marketwired (press release)-Oct 27, 2015
TORONTO, ONTARIO and MUMBAI, INDIA--(Marketwired - Oct. 27, 2015) - Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) announced today ...
Canadian pension group to invest up to $6bn in India
Financial Times-Oct 27, 2015
Canada pension body sets up shop in India
Business Standard-Oct 27, 2015
Canada Pension Plan opens first investment office in India
Financial Express-Oct 27, 2015
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board opens office in Mumbai
In-Depth-Economic Times-Oct 27, 2015
'India may attract $6 b from Canadian pension fund in 8 years'
In-Depth-Hindu Business Line-Oct 27, 2015


Hindu Business Line


Business Standard

Financial Express

BLR Eagle

CBC.ca

Reuters
Explore in depth (44 more articles)


Canadian pension funds eye Indian infrastructure assets
Livemint-Oct 18, 2015
According to a 15 October survey by EY, India was ranked as the top ... The funds will follow peer Canada Pension Plan Investment Board ...
Canadian pension funds eye Indian infra assets
DEALSTREETASIA-Oct 18, 2015

Explore in depth (2 more articles)
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What it takes to grow Canada's national nest egg
Macleans.ca-Oct 28, 2015
In 2011, Canada's pension fund manager invested in a relatively obscure ... told members of a Canada-india business group while in Mumbai.
Canada's CPPIB opens office in India to scout for opportunities
TV Newsroom-Oct 29, 2015

Explore in depth (3 more articles)

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Disclaimer : This is not investment advice. Its for educational purposes only.
I'm only providing news & information for the sake of general awareness.
Do your own due diligence before investing.
I'm not liable for any of your investing decisions.

Best Regards,

--
Rahul Vashisht

Diwali Dinner Party (Members Only) - 07-Nov-2015 (Indo-Candians Group)

Please Choose the options below for making the Payment (Members Only) :

Cost of Dinner for Members :

Diwali Dinner

1 Adult : $25.00 CAD 1 Adult + 1 kid : $40.00 CAD 1 Adult + 2 kids : $55.00 CAD 2 Adults : $50.00 CAD 2 Adults + 1 kid : $65.00 CAD 2 Adults + 2 kids : $80.00 CAD 2 Adults + 3 kids : $95.00 CAD 3 Adults : $75.00 CAD 3 Adults + 1 kid : $90.00 CAD 3 Adults + 2 kids : $105.00 CAD

Diwali Dinner Party - 07-Nov-2015 (Indo-Candians Group)

Please Choose the options below for making the Payment :

Cost of Dinner for Guests :

Diwali Dinner

1 Adult : $30.00 CAD 1 Adult + 1 kid : $45.00 CAD 1 Adult + 2 kids : $60.00 CAD 2 Adults : $60.00 CAD 2 Adults + 1 kid : $75.00 CAD 2 Adults + 2 kids : $90.00 CAD 2 Adults + 3 kids : $105.00 CAD 3 Adults : $90.00 CAD 3 Adults + 1 kid : $105.00 CAD 3 Adults + 2 kids : $120.00 CAD

My Star-Gazing: Scientific Astrological Forecast - Sep-2015

Hi Friends,
I have been unable to update on Astrological events for many months now due to family commitments during the summer vacations.
Our job in astrology is to read the stars, analyse & predict future events, before it becomes news. If it's already happened, then you don't need the astrologer any-more.
Today is a significant day that warrants me to come out of hibernation & study the charts & do some brain storming.

I've been hearing a lot in the social media for the last 1 year about  : Shemitah / 2015 (Jewish calendar)- the 7 year cycle and the 49 year mega cycle & its significance this time over.
Is it for real this time, or is it just like the Mayan Prophecy back in 2012, a social media hype event ?

http://beforeitsnews.com/blogging-citizen-journalism/2015/03/heads-upstart-of-the-shemitah-year-begins-friday-march-20-breaking-update-pg-14-2499038.html

Blood Moon Prophecy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Blood Moon Prophecy is a hypothesis proposed by some Christian ministers, such as John Hagee and Mark Biltz, which states that an ongoing tetrad (a ...

Shmita - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The sabbath year (shmita Hebrew: שמיטה‎, literally "release") also called the sabbatical year or sheviit (Hebrew: שביעית‎, literally "seventh") is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the Land of Israel, and still observed in contemporary Judaism.

To a layman -This does not look good, seems like everything's collapsing..
However, just like the Mayan doomsday calendar ending 21-dec-2012 - which was more of a social media hype & drama, this Shmita cycle seems to be also an over exaggerating interpretation of the cyclical charts by the social media. Lets analyse it in context with Vedic Astrology in the paragraphs below.

Read my contrary opinion issued on 10-dec-2012 :
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My contrary opinion issued 10-Dec-2012:
1. Two Planets that can cause War & Misery = Mars & Saturn are Both Exalted and any big escalation will be quickly diffused.
2. Rahu & Ketu : There is slight tendency of all Planets except Saturn being in the shadow of Rahu & Ketu for a few days, and both are debilitated, however the Rahu-Ketu Axis moves on Dec/23. So whatever misfortune that may arise will be short lived & will quickly tide over.

So I'm not concerned about the world coming to an end on 21-dec-2012 per Mayan Doomsday Calendar.

Placement / Transit of Planets per Panchang / Lahiri Ayanamsa are contrary, and star alignments show favorable times ahead.

Position of Planets as on 21-Dec-2012
1. Sun in Sagittarius (Dhanu)
2. Moon in Aires (Mesh)
3. Mars in Capricorn (Makar) = Mars is Exalted (Shubh)
4. Mercury in Scorpio (Vrishak)
5. Venus in Scorpio (Vrishak)
6. Jupiter in Taurus (Vrish)
7. Saturn in Libra (Thula) = Saturn is Exalted (Shubh)

8. Rahu in Scorpio (Vrishak)    => changes to => Libra (Thula) on 23/dec
9. Ketu in Taurus (Vrish)          => changes to => Aires (Mesh) on 23/dec

So I will continue to pay my taxes & go to work like any normal day.
Thanks & Regards,
=====================================================

About Shemitah & the 4 blood moons.
What does Vedic Astrology have to say about the current events & how are the stars placed this time over :

Placement / Transit of Planets per Panchang / Lahiri Ayanamsa are contrary, and star alignments show favorable times ahead.
Position of Planets for Sep-2015 :

1. Sun in Virgo(6) - 17-sep to 18-oct
2. Moon is transiting Pisces on 27-sep (Full Moon) - Depending where you are on the planet, the moment of the full Moon and exact time of the total lunar eclipse could be either on September 27 or 28
It is generally not recommended to do important actions during an eclipse. This could be a good time to withdraw from intense or important actions in favor of rest, relaxation or meditative practices. 
3. Mars in Leo(5) - 15-sep to 3-nov = Mars is favourable (Shubh)
4. Mercury in Virgo(6) - 23-aug to 29-oct = Mercury is Exalted (Shubh)
5. Venus in Cancer(4) - 13-aug to 1-oct
6. Jupiter in Leo(5) - 14-july-2015 to 11-aug-2016 = Jupiter is favourable (Shubh)
7. Saturn transits Scorpio(8) = till 26-jan-2017

8. Rahu in Virgo(6)    = conjunct with the Sun
9. Ketu in Pisces(12) = conjunct with the Moon on 27 & 28-sep

Vedic Astrology is the science of weight-age analysis - if 3 planets are favourable & only 1 unfavourable alignment on that day, so it means, things will work out for the better. So I'm not concerned about the world coming to an end & and star alignments show favourable times ahead.

My Analysis :
I've been hearing a lot about the coming market correction / debt de-leveraging cycle, etc.
This is true to a certain extent. Take for example Mercury's power to mute our senses during retrograde cycles.
Mercury is retrograde - sep-17 to oct-9
Retrograde motion is when it APPEARS as though a planet is actually moving in a backward motion due to the relation of the planet to the earth in its particular position at a certain point in time.
Retrograde motion pulls back and gives you an opportunity to take care of your past (old business). The past that needs to be resolved is directly related to the planet involved.
Mercury is the Lord of communication & commerce. The retrograde motion may mute our communication abilities - try talking underwater - your mouth is moving, yet nobody can hear you. What you say may not be properly heard or understood by the other party.

My views on Shemitah / 2015 in relation to vedic astrology :
Just like our Vedic astrological science has been tried & tested & withstood over thousands of years, so Its also wise to hear others opinion as well.
This has some significance because if we see the occurrences of patterns over time. Then there has to be some scientific thinking & logic behind it.
Shemitah has been talking of bursting of the bubbles all over as a 7year & 49year pattern. Is it true?

The markets today all over have been propped up with many bubbles - Money bubble, credit bubble, real estate bubble, over confidence bubble, etc, etc..
I have seen people over leveraged with credit & literally drowning in debt upto their eye balls in debt. One small correction & their finances can be in trouble.
Who is to blame for this - its our lust for money, quick money & speculation, get rich quick mentality, that's been driving us to do these insane things.

I'm thinking the Mercury retrograde cycle is what they have been talking about all this time. Mercury (Budh) is the lord of communication & quick thinking (according to vedic astrology). Mercury's 3 week retrograde motion may act as a fog, where some may become disoriented, & may mute one's communication abilities to some extent.
Is this going to act as a lubricant to a panic / correction ? Possibly Yes.
We are in an age of Information & dis-information propaganda. Everybody is trying to shout down each other down, with their own version of the truth.
Any small hiccup will scare people at large & may lead to a burst of the bubble anyways. 
Is the Mercury retrograde cycle going to help Shemitah - possibly yes, considering the circumstances the world is in today.
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Disclaimer : This information is for educational purposes only
This is not investment advice.

Best Regards,

--

Rahul Vashisht
Quote : Turn your face towards the sun and the shadows fall behind you.

My Star-Gazing: Scientific Astrological Forecast - March/April - 2015

Hi Friends,
I will be resuming my monthly Astrological Forecasts & may not post the full version on the groups forum as it may not be relevant to the forum at large - However the full monthly forecasts will become available monthly on my Blog.

March-2015 - some significant events :

Favourable / Very Favourable Transits :
1. Venus transits Pisces(12) : 16-Feb to 12-March-2015 - is exalted (very beneficial)
2. Jupiter in Cancer(4) : 19-jun-2014 to 14-jul-2015 - is exalted (very beneficial)
3. Sun Transits Pisces(12) : 14-mar to 14-apr-2015 - is beneficial

Some Debilitation :
4. Mercury in Pisces(12) : 28-mar to 12-apr-2015 - is debilitated
Mercury being the first Planet from the Sun, follows the Sun closely & is free from the rule of being combust by the energy of the Sun.
It is the controller of communication. Mercury is debilitated in Pisces & as if swimming alone in a giant Ocean, its powers are greatly diminished.
During this time if you feel that no one is listening to what you have to say & words get lost in translation, then look no further than within yourself to find the answer.


Winter Highlights : A dark cold brutal winter
Sun Transits : Capricorn(10)  13-Jan-2015 to 12-Feb. & in Aquarius(11)  13-feb-2015 to 14-mar.
The Sun entered un-friendly territory for 2 months on Jan-13, entered Capricorn(10) the home of Saturn.
It's as if - it losses its self confidence & ego. Saturn destroys ego & over confidence. It wants you to learn the hands-on approach. No more cushy luxury of pushing buttons. It wants you to roll up your sleeves & get down on your hand & knees hard work (shovel some snow).

These 2 months have been brutal for me too. I had to travel to India & back, as my father was in the hospital in a serious condition, running "from pillar to post". Things are turning better now.

The Sun transits the 2 signs of Saturn - Capricorn (10) and Aquarius (11) as per Vedic Calendar.
If during this time you found yourself being repeatedly slapped & your ego shattered, look no further than within yourself to understand the lessons you are being dealt.
Its during these times of hard work & effort that we begin to appreciate the worth of luxury & comfort.
"He who has tasted the bitter / sour fruit - will appreciate & cherish the sweetness, when the fruit is ripe."


Spring Confidence
Sun Transits Pisces(12) 14-mar-2015 to 14-apr.
The Sun finally breaks free of the grip of Saturn & is finally able to enjoy the next 2 months in friendly territory. Its as if spring is finally here & the vice like grip of winter is finally over. This is a time of a sudden boost in energy & lots of creative thought process & a wider perspective.

Overall - Winter is almost over; 2 more weeks to go & the best time of the year - the next 2 months, are around the corner.

Best Regards,

--
Rahul Vashisht
Quote : Turn your face towards the sun and the shadows fall behind you.

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India Passes China to Become Fastest-Growing Economy - 2015 trends // Proof of India's rise again...

India Passes China to Become Fastest-Growing Economy
Wall Street Journal (blog) - Feb 11, 2015
Everyone from the World Bank to Goldman Sachs had predicted it wouldn't happen for another two years but recent recalculations indicate that India has already dethroned China as the world's fastest-growing big economy. Late Monday, India's statistics ...

India fastest growing economy
The Hindu - Feb 9, 2015
The overall economic situation in the country is looking better and the basic parameters of the Indian economy are moving in the right direction, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said ahead of the release of the advanced estimates by CSO. “India's growth ... 

Methodology change sees Indian economy grow faster than China's
Reuters - Feb 9, 2015
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month also predicted India would overtake China next year as the fastest growing major economy with 6.5 percent annual growth compared with 6.3 percent for China. However, listless corporate spending and ... 

It's Official: India is World's Fastest-Growing Big Economy
NDTV - Feb 9, 2015
India on Monday forecast that annual economic growth would accelerate to 7.4 per cent in the year ending in March after its statisticians changed the way they measure Asia's third-largest economy. The new estimate is sharply higher than the Reserve Bank of ...

India to grow at 7.4%, outpacing China to become world's fastest growing economy
Daily News & Analysis - Feb 9, 2015
Indian economy will grow by 7.4% this fiscal, outpacing China to become the world's fastest growing economy, after a revision in the method of calculations. Aided by a 7.5% expansion during October- December, Asia's third-largest economy will this fiscal see ...

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India will Rise Again...

It is now common knowledge , that :
In 1750, China owned 33% of the global GDP and India, 24.5 %. In the same year, the combined share of Britain and the United States was a mere 2%.

A subsequent analysis found that India had the largest economy in the world for 1,700 of the past 2,000 years.

Very recently in 2014 news came out, that China's GDP (PPP) has overtaken the US economy to become the largest economy in the world.

It is now only a matter of time that India also catches up.

How & Why?

India's current population as per the World Bank report is 1.252 billion (2013)
Is just a whisker shy of China's.
China's population is about 1.357 billion (2013)

1. With the current population growth trends In the next 15- 20 years, India will surpass China to become the most populous country in the world.

2. India has the advantage of a younger population, a vibrant democracy and high level of grass roots penetration of English as the official second language.

3. India's private Gold holdings are estimated to be about 20,000 tonnes. This is either worn by the ladies in the form of jewelery, or in the possession of temples (God's Gold) or locked up in safety deposit boxes.
This huge amount is sufficient to wipe out all of of India's National Debt, plus leave aside sufficient to help grow the economy for the coming decades.

Indian households have piled up as much as 20,000 tonnes of gold, worth $1.16 trillion, an historic high.
Indians hoard 20k tonnes gold worth record $1.16 trn - Financial Express
url : http://archive.financialexpress.com/news/indians-hoard-20k-tonnes-gold-worth-record-1.16-trn/1037761

These factors will combine to catapult India as the second largest economy after China (PPP) in the next 15- 20 years.

It not far out in the future in about 40-50 years, that we may live to see the day that India over takes even China to become the largest economy.
The title "Soone ki Chidia" (the golden bird) may not be a far fetched dream after all.

Best regards.
Rahul Vashisht 

Quote : Turn your face towards the sun and the shadows fall behind you.

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Obama's trip to my homeland: Proof of India's rise again - CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/23/world/obama-india-trip-personal-essay/

......"I recently read a story in a Indian news magazine that mentioned a 1983 study of the world economy that created quite a stir among Western economists. The study said that in 1750, China owned 33% of the global GDP and India, 24.5 %. In the same year, the combined share of Britain and the United States was a mere 2%.

A subsequent analysis found that India had the largest economy in the world for 1,700 of the past 2,000 years.

So to call India an emerging power is silly. If anything, my homeland is re-emerging as the global power it once was.

India, of course, has a way to go to catch China, although it has already outranked Japan as the third largest economy.

OPINION: "Why 2015 will be a defining year for India"

Economic historian Robert Fogel has predicted that by 2040, the Chinese economy will reach $123 trillion. That's three times the economic output of the entire globe and quite staggering when you consider that China was considered a poor country in 2000.

Fogel thinks China's per capita income will hit $85,000, more than double the forecast for the European Union. China's GDP at 40% will dwarf America's 14%.

But some economists think that India has a chance to leap over China in about 50 years. The most recent World Bank forecast says growth in India is likely to outdo China's.

Granted, it's a prediction that has been made before and India has disappointed. But now with Modi in the driver's seat, many experts are hopeful that India can resolve problems of political stasis and take off like it was supposed to have done a decade ago.

India, says Rossow, is destined to become another pole of power."......

.... "India is a large country that will be population-wise, in the next 20 years, probably surpassing China," says Rossow. "Economy-wise, it'll be a rival and growing quite heavily."

.......I recently spoke with Hall about why he is going on the State Department-sponsored trip.

"The geopolitics of the world and its economic focus has shifted and it will continue to shift East," Hall told me. "India is a very significant player."

.... He says he is impressed by the burgeoning middle class in India and by the fact that India is rooted in democracy, unlike China.

India has the advantage of leapfrogging its development, says Hall. Indians are innovating above and beyond what was normal in the West and they have the advantage of learning from mistakes made by developed nations.

"They have a chance to address education, poverty and heath care in a wholesale way," says Hall. "Whichever emerging superpower brings its people along the best will be the most dynamic. The human element is what people always leave out."

Obama, says Hall, has every reason to reach out to Modi, a man who began as a "chai wallah" -- a tea seller -- and became prime minister of India.

That, after all, is the American dream realized in the land of my birth"......
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from Refugees to Moguls / Story of the Indian diaspora / India Conquers the World

Hello Friends,
Recently I've been traveling across continents, to my native land India. As a keen observer, I've been noticing subtle changes in demographic trends across the world.

Young Indian families are traveling further across the world and are encouraged by their extended families to take the plunge and seek fortunes in distant lands.
This is a growing trend and a cultural phenomena in the northern Indian Province of Punjab and the southern province of Kerala, Where the local economy has been totally changed by the influx of billions of dollars of expatriate money inflows over the decades.
Young people in these provinces are fixed at the idea of gaining those important skills and then quickly moving out, encourages by a network of their extended families, friends, who have successfully established themselves before.

Facts and figures :
Official figures of Indian diaspora are 25 million,  however unofficial figures of about  40 million worldwide, who claim to be either first generation immigrants or people who can have Indian ancestry.

Please find the time to read the article below.

Best regards.
Rahul Vashisht

On Wikipedia  : http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-resident_Indian_and_person_of_Indian_origin
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India Conquers the World - Newsweek Magazine
After a long eclipse, an ancient country finally returns as a force in global business and culture.
url : http://www.newsweek.com/indias-most-important-exports-brains-and-talent-68395

.....from refugees to moguls embodies a worldwide phenomenon: the growing size and sway of the Indian diaspora.
The exile population now numbers some 40 million people, spread across West Africa, the Americas, and East Asia. And in many of those countries—including the United States, Britain, Canada, Singapore, and Australia—Indian immigrants and their offspring have both higher incomes and higher education levels than the general population.

The international importance of India itself is rising to an extent unmatched since the onset of the European-dominated global economy in the 17th century. And with the country’s economy growing at roughly 8 percent a year for the past decade—more than double the rate of the United States—India’s influence can only continue to strengthen. Most economists predict that by 2025 the country will outstrip Japan to become the world’s third-largest economy.

India is more dynamic than any other major country in dem-o-graph-ic terms as well. Its population today is 1.21 billion, second only to China’s 1.3 billion, and thanks to the latter’s one-child policy, India’s numbers are expected to surpass those of China by the late ’20s, when India will have an estimated 1.4 billion people versus China’s 1.39 billion. Currently home to the world’s second-largest contingent of English speakers, India seems destined to step into first place, ahead of the United States, by 2020.

But the mother country’s rise has been more than equaled by that of India’s émigrés. In fact, the diaspora remains one of India’s most important sources of foreign capital. According to the most recent available figures, workers from India in 2009 sent $49 billion in remittances to relatives back home, outpacing China by $2 billion and Mexico by $4 billion. Four percent of India’s gross domestic product comes from North American remittances alone.

In fact, India’s business community tends to be family--centered, both at home and abroad. Chinese entrepreneurs are more than twice as likely to be financed through banks, most of them state-owned. In contrast, Indian firms and business networks tend to be essentially familial and tribal, extending in networks across the world. “Much of the Indian middle class has ties outside India,” notes researcher Vastala Pant, formerly with the Nielsen office in Mumbai. “Our ties around the world are also family ties.”

The importance of such familial links can be seen in the close relationship between diaspora settlement and commerce. The top five areas for Indian investment—Mauritius, the Americas, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.K.—have large, established Indian communities and -Indian-run companies that are particularly active in electronics and software.

Today, even the largest Indian firms, such as Tata and the Reliance Group, are controlled by groups of relatives whose power is enhanced by their wide geographic reach. “We’re very flexible about doing business,” notes Lalvani, who was raised in Britain, is a permanent resident of Hong Kong, and is married to an Indian-American. “We’re global and cosmopolitan—ethnically Indian but also tied to the U.S., U.K., and Hong Kong. They’re all things that make me who I am, and make our business work.”
.................
The Indian diaspora began when Indian workers fanned out across the British Empire during the late 18th century. The exodus intensified after Britain abolished slavery in 1834, setting off a major demand for labor around the globe. Indians were sent out to become contract laborers on Malaya’s rubber plantations, or to work as indentured serv-ants in the West Indies. Although many eventually returned home, others stayed in their new countries, and in many -cases became integral parts of the national economy. Some rose to skilled positions in the colonial civil service and military, while others became businessmen, teachers, doctors, and moneylenders.

Even after the empire’s end, émigrés kept pouring out of India to seek better lives abroad—and with them they brought brains and a willingness to work hard. In the United States, where the Indian diaspora represents less than 1 percent of the population, its members account for roughly 13 percent of the graduate students at the country’s top universities. Overall, 67 percent of people of Indian descent living in America hold at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 28 percent of the total population. And those statistics are echoed elsewhere in the world. In Canada, people of Indian descent are twice as likely to hold graduate or professional degrees. In Britain, some 40 percent of the medical students and doctors in the National Health Service are of Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi origin.

Indians’ presence in the business realm is no less nota-ble than in the world of higher learning. According to the latest survey by the University of Essex, the per capita income of ethnic Indians in Britain is about £15,860 (nearly $26,000), higher than that of any other ethnic group in the country and almost 10 percent above the median nation-al income. The study found that the unemployment rate among ethnic Indians is close to half the national average. In the United States, recently published data estimate average household income at $50,000, but it’s $90,000 for ethnic Indians—and a 2007 survey found that between 1995 and 2005, more companies were launched by ethnic Indians than by immigrants from Britain, China, Japan, and Taiwan combined.

The expatriates have brought their culture with them—and that too is spreading into the general population wherever they go. Two million Brits enjoy at least one Indian meal per week, and onscreen entertainment from India has permeated the global market. Not so long ago, Bollywood movies were largely intended for domestic consumption, but foreign sales have become significant in recent years, with the large markets in the dominant diaspora countries. Today, Bollywood movies and television shows command an estimated $3 billion to $4 billion in overseas receipts, placing India’s film industry second only to Hollywood itself. In fact, India beats the rest of the world in the number of movies made and tickets sold, and industry sources estimate that as many as a third of ticket buyers in the West are non-Indians.
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