UK rationale for not accepting students visa applications in North India

Richard Stagg, UK High Commissioner, explains the rationale behind Britains decision of not accepting students visa applications in North India.

From Monday, the UK’s visa application centres in northern India will temporarily stop accepting visa applications for student visas. I much regret the need to take this step. But I am clear we had no choice. This decision does not mean we don’t want Indians to study in the UK. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the last few weeks, however, our visa application centres in northern India have been receiving an unprecedented number of applications for student visas some from people who we believe do not actually intend to study in the UK. On one day recently, we received as many applications for student visas in Delhi as in the whole of January 2009.

Those applying for visas, without meeting our requirements, are also making things difficult for genuine students, who naturally want a quick and reliable visa service. The recent sharp spike in applications has put huge pressure on our visa operation. The service we have been able to offer to genuine students has not been up to the usual high standard something I am personally concerned about. The current arrangements, which we call Tier 4, were introduced in March last year. This system places much greater responsibility on educational institutions in the UK, which sponsor foreign students. Whereas once there were several thousand institutions allowed to bring foreign students into the UK, this number is now down to around 2000. We monitor these institutions to ensure that, if they offer places to foreign students, the students actually enrol in the institution and attend classes. If they do not, they can be struck from the register of approved colleges. In only the last week, 60 institutions have been suspended. I hope this shows that we will be vigilant in ensuring that people cannot abuse the system, at either end.

One problem that we face in India is with unscrupulous agents. While there are many agents who offer a genuine and useful service to visa applicants, there are others who try to convince people that they can provide them with a route into the UK by the backdoor. They can’t ! But they do, on occasion, cause huge misery for families who sacrifice their life’s savings (or borrow money) to make visa applications which stand no chance of being accepted. And, even if these applicants were to get to the UK, they would not have enough money to sustain themselves. Some no doubt are led to believe that they will get full-time work or benefits, neither of which is possible in the UK if you do not have a Work Permit.

Recent news reports have even shown Indians in the UK who resorted to obtaining food at Gurudwaras. So we have been left with no option but to stop receiving applications under Tier 4 in Northern India for the time being (our application centres will remain open for Tier 4 applications in Western and Southern India, but applicants will need to make an appointment). We will review the situation at the end of February. During this time we will deal with the backlog of cases which has built up. But we will also scrutinise thoroughly the large number of applications we have been receiving.

If educational institutions in the UK have been offering places which they know will not be taken up, we will take action and suspend them. Where the applications suggest agents are attempting to take advantage of unsuspecting people, we will pass their names to the local authorities for investigation. I believe it is in the interest of all those with a genuine wish to study in the UK that we address effectively the problems which have emerged in the last couple of months. That will allow us to resume a normal visa service.

Source: The Times of India, January 31, 2010

UK rationale for not accepting students visa applications in North India

Richard Stagg, UK High Commissioner, explains the rationale behind Britains decision of not accepting students visa applications in North India.

From Monday, the UK’s visa application centres in northern India will temporarily stop accepting visa applications for student visas. I much regret the need to take this step. But I am clear we had no choice. This decision does not mean we don’t want Indians to study in the UK. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the last few weeks, however, our visa application centres in northern India have been receiving an unprecedented number of applications for student visas some from people who we believe do not actually intend to study in the UK. On one day recently, we received as many applications for student visas in Delhi as in the whole of January 2009.

Those applying for visas, without meeting our requirements, are also making things difficult for genuine students, who naturally want a quick and reliable visa service. The recent sharp spike in applications has put huge pressure on our visa operation. The service we have been able to offer to genuine students has not been up to the usual high standard something I am personally concerned about. The current arrangements, which we call Tier 4, were introduced in March last year. This system places much greater responsibility on educational institutions in the UK, which sponsor foreign students. Whereas once there were several thousand institutions allowed to bring foreign students into the UK, this number is now down to around 2000. We monitor these institutions to ensure that, if they offer places to foreign students, the students actually enrol in the institution and attend classes. If they do not, they can be struck from the register of approved colleges. In only the last week, 60 institutions have been suspended. I hope this shows that we will be vigilant in ensuring that people cannot abuse the system, at either end.

One problem that we face in India is with unscrupulous agents. While there are many agents who offer a genuine and useful service to visa applicants, there are others who try to convince people that they can provide them with a route into the UK by the backdoor. They can’t ! But they do, on occasion, cause huge misery for families who sacrifice their life’s savings (or borrow money) to make visa applications which stand no chance of being accepted. And, even if these applicants were to get to the UK, they would not have enough money to sustain themselves. Some no doubt are led to believe that they will get full-time work or benefits, neither of which is possible in the UK if you do not have a Work Permit.

Recent news reports have even shown Indians in the UK who resorted to obtaining food at Gurudwaras. So we have been left with no option but to stop receiving applications under Tier 4 in Northern India for the time being (our application centres will remain open for Tier 4 applications in Western and Southern India, but applicants will need to make an appointment). We will review the situation at the end of February. During this time we will deal with the backlog of cases which has built up. But we will also scrutinise thoroughly the large number of applications we have been receiving.

If educational institutions in the UK have been offering places which they know will not be taken up, we will take action and suspend them. Where the applications suggest agents are attempting to take advantage of unsuspecting people, we will pass their names to the local authorities for investigation. I believe it is in the interest of all those with a genuine wish to study in the UK that we address effectively the problems which have emerged in the last couple of months. That will allow us to resume a normal visa service.

Source: The Times of India, January 31, 2010

Are these "Doomed Universities"?

News that 44 deemed universities, mostly private, had everything except quality, has come as a rude shock to many. (They have 1,19,363 students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition, 2,124 are pursuing M.Phil. and Ph.D. programs). Though their fate is with the Supreme Court now, its clear that a tough summer awaits the students who got into these universities after paying astronomical entry fees. Various factors forced parents to put their children in private institutions failure to get admission in government-run institutions and their small presence in the higher education sector. It worked well for these institutions too as a deemed status ensured better exploitation of the demand market. So will the current controversy spell the end of private investment in higher education?

Though a huge setback will be experienced for some time, private investment will not wither away, thanks to the lopsided demand-supply chain and poor government investment here. But yes, the recent review of deemed universities will ensure that only serious players remain in the market. As for the future, corrective steps are being taken. HRD ministry officials say regulations are in the offing to comprehensively deal with all that went wrong. HRD minister Kapil Sibal is lucky that two things happened within weeks of his taking over the deemed university bubble burst and submission of the Yashpal committee report which indicted the running of these universities as a family enterprise.

Sibal zeroed in on four factors that made private deemed universities notorious. One was the lack of transparency in giving deemed university status to private institutions by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Two, there was no redressal mechanism to deal with malpractices indulged in by these institutions. Three, lack of transparency about funding, leading to fly-by-night operators. Four, no proper monitoring of the quality of these institutions. Tall claims and false promises made by them were largely unverifiable. More than seven months later, Sibal is nearly ready with, what many see, as the most comprehensive prescription in higher education. The HRD ministry is ready with four bills, the most important of which is the creation of National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) that will replace the nearly six-decade-old UGC.

Though this move is facing resistance from many quarters, if followed in letter and spirit, the new bill will make the opaqueness of the UGC a thing of the past. To ensure that the funding body does not also become the sole arbiter of quality, as is the case now, the ministry has moved a legislation that will create a SEBI-like body that will give licenses to private and government agencies through a rigorous monitoring mechanism. It will become mandatory for every institution to show its quality rating before a deemed university status is granted to it, quite like companies going for IPOs. Malpractises such as inflated fees will invite a stiff fine and even derecognition. Also, its often believed that the source of funding of these private institutions is dubious.

Unlike many countries abroad, there is no institutional financing for higher education in India. This has led to private education providers demanding arbitrary fees. The proposal to set up a National Higher Education Finance Corporation, on the lines of similar bodies in England and Australia, will tackle these anomalies. It will give long-term loans at cheap rates, but only after due diligence, making these institutions pay more attention to infrastructure, faculty and research. It will take at least another year before these legislations become law. But the bigger challenge for Sibal is to implement them in letter and spirit so that future generations do not wait for court verdicts to seal their future.

This article is written by Akshaya Mukul.

Source: The Times of India, January 31, 2010

Are these "Doomed Universities"?

News that 44 deemed universities, mostly private, had everything except quality, has come as a rude shock to many. (They have 1,19,363 students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition, 2,124 are pursuing M.Phil. and Ph.D. programs). Though their fate is with the Supreme Court now, its clear that a tough summer awaits the students who got into these universities after paying astronomical entry fees. Various factors forced parents to put their children in private institutions failure to get admission in government-run institutions and their small presence in the higher education sector. It worked well for these institutions too as a deemed status ensured better exploitation of the demand market. So will the current controversy spell the end of private investment in higher education?

Though a huge setback will be experienced for some time, private investment will not wither away, thanks to the lopsided demand-supply chain and poor government investment here. But yes, the recent review of deemed universities will ensure that only serious players remain in the market. As for the future, corrective steps are being taken. HRD ministry officials say regulations are in the offing to comprehensively deal with all that went wrong. HRD minister Kapil Sibal is lucky that two things happened within weeks of his taking over the deemed university bubble burst and submission of the Yashpal committee report which indicted the running of these universities as a family enterprise.

Sibal zeroed in on four factors that made private deemed universities notorious. One was the lack of transparency in giving deemed university status to private institutions by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Two, there was no redressal mechanism to deal with malpractices indulged in by these institutions. Three, lack of transparency about funding, leading to fly-by-night operators. Four, no proper monitoring of the quality of these institutions. Tall claims and false promises made by them were largely unverifiable. More than seven months later, Sibal is nearly ready with, what many see, as the most comprehensive prescription in higher education. The HRD ministry is ready with four bills, the most important of which is the creation of National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) that will replace the nearly six-decade-old UGC.

Though this move is facing resistance from many quarters, if followed in letter and spirit, the new bill will make the opaqueness of the UGC a thing of the past. To ensure that the funding body does not also become the sole arbiter of quality, as is the case now, the ministry has moved a legislation that will create a SEBI-like body that will give licenses to private and government agencies through a rigorous monitoring mechanism. It will become mandatory for every institution to show its quality rating before a deemed university status is granted to it, quite like companies going for IPOs. Malpractises such as inflated fees will invite a stiff fine and even derecognition. Also, its often believed that the source of funding of these private institutions is dubious.

Unlike many countries abroad, there is no institutional financing for higher education in India. This has led to private education providers demanding arbitrary fees. The proposal to set up a National Higher Education Finance Corporation, on the lines of similar bodies in England and Australia, will tackle these anomalies. It will give long-term loans at cheap rates, but only after due diligence, making these institutions pay more attention to infrastructure, faculty and research. It will take at least another year before these legislations become law. But the bigger challenge for Sibal is to implement them in letter and spirit so that future generations do not wait for court verdicts to seal their future.

This article is written by Akshaya Mukul.

Source: The Times of India, January 31, 2010

Stricter norms for future Vice Chancellors

It may no longer be possible to become vice chancellor (VC) of a central or private university merely because a person thinks he is worthy of the job, is able to exercise influence, or is its promoter. He will have to be a part of a National Registry of VCs that will be compiled by the collegium of the proposed National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER). The national registry will include the names after a thorough assessment of a persons competence. Only those persons whose names are included in the registry can be appointed VCs of Central and private universities.

In a big step forward, the draft NCHER Bill, 2010, plugs all the loopholes that afflict the functioning of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Even the concept and term called “deemed university” has been done away with. NCHER will replace UGC, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE). Once NCHER comes into existence all higher educational institutions will have to seek authorization as per norms laid out by the new body. As per the draft, all universities, including private ones, will for the first time be brought under the ambit of the Right to Information Act on the ground that they are public institutions. The draft Bill also has an unprecedented provision which says that the President will review the Commissions functioning within 5 years of it coming into being while Parliament will do so after 10 years.

The draft has been prepared by an HRD ministry task force and will be put through more discussions. Education being a concurrent subject, state universities will be free to either seek names from the registry or appoint their own VCs. The collegium will play a crucial role in the functioning of NCHER. It will have two kinds of members core and co-opted. The latter will be brought in by the core members. The core fellows will have to be national research professors, Nobel laureates, Jnanpith awardees and members of academies of international standing. Even overseas Indians can become core fellows. The co-opted fellows will be chosen by the core fellows to represent each state and Union territory. The collegium will aid, advise and recommend to NCHER academic standards, future trends in different fields of knowledge and prepare the National Registry of VCs or head of institution of national importance.

In a bid to deal with absent members when voting is required, the draft Bill permits voting through electronic methods. NCHER, with powers of a civil court, will specify norms and standards needed for an institution to award any degree or diploma; develop a national curriculum framework; specify norms and processes for establishment and winding up of a university; specify norms of academic quality; and lay down the minimum eligibility conditions for appointment of VC of any university or head of an institution.

Separately, a detailed transparent procedure has been laid out for grant of authorization to an educational institution and revocation of such an authorization. The day-to-day functioning of NCHER will be lookrd after by a seven-member body including a chairperson. All of them will be scholars of eminence. The chairperson and members will be selected for five years by a committee headed by the Prime Minister and consisting of the Lok Sabha Speaker, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, HRD minister and the health minister.

This article written by Akshya Mukul.

Source: The Times of India, January 31, 2010

Stricter norms for future Vice Chancellors

It may no longer be possible to become vice chancellor (VC) of a central or private university merely because a person thinks he is worthy of the job, is able to exercise influence, or is its promoter. He will have to be a part of a National Registry of VCs that will be compiled by the collegium of the proposed National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER). The national registry will include the names after a thorough assessment of a persons competence. Only those persons whose names are included in the registry can be appointed VCs of Central and private universities.

In a big step forward, the draft NCHER Bill, 2010, plugs all the loopholes that afflict the functioning of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Even the concept and term called “deemed university” has been done away with. NCHER will replace UGC, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE). Once NCHER comes into existence all higher educational institutions will have to seek authorization as per norms laid out by the new body. As per the draft, all universities, including private ones, will for the first time be brought under the ambit of the Right to Information Act on the ground that they are public institutions. The draft Bill also has an unprecedented provision which says that the President will review the Commissions functioning within 5 years of it coming into being while Parliament will do so after 10 years.

The draft has been prepared by an HRD ministry task force and will be put through more discussions. Education being a concurrent subject, state universities will be free to either seek names from the registry or appoint their own VCs. The collegium will play a crucial role in the functioning of NCHER. It will have two kinds of members core and co-opted. The latter will be brought in by the core members. The core fellows will have to be national research professors, Nobel laureates, Jnanpith awardees and members of academies of international standing. Even overseas Indians can become core fellows. The co-opted fellows will be chosen by the core fellows to represent each state and Union territory. The collegium will aid, advise and recommend to NCHER academic standards, future trends in different fields of knowledge and prepare the National Registry of VCs or head of institution of national importance.

In a bid to deal with absent members when voting is required, the draft Bill permits voting through electronic methods. NCHER, with powers of a civil court, will specify norms and standards needed for an institution to award any degree or diploma; develop a national curriculum framework; specify norms and processes for establishment and winding up of a university; specify norms of academic quality; and lay down the minimum eligibility conditions for appointment of VC of any university or head of an institution.

Separately, a detailed transparent procedure has been laid out for grant of authorization to an educational institution and revocation of such an authorization. The day-to-day functioning of NCHER will be lookrd after by a seven-member body including a chairperson. All of them will be scholars of eminence. The chairperson and members will be selected for five years by a committee headed by the Prime Minister and consisting of the Lok Sabha Speaker, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, HRD minister and the health minister.

This article written by Akshya Mukul.

Source: The Times of India, January 31, 2010

Use new tech to let books speak

Fifteen-year-old Ravi has never read a book. Diagnosed with a brain disorder when he was just three years old, he was taught how to read in a school for special children. But apart from some local newspapers and occasional letters from his family, he could never manage to enjoy a book because reading printed words was never comfortable to him. On Saturday, Ravi was among the 300 print-impaired people all dressed in identical blue sweatshirts and suffering from various disabilities like blindness, autism, dyslexia etc who gathered at Pragati Maidan as the World Book Fair kicked off. Taking part in Right to Read campaign organized by Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), they tried to create awareness about the plight of nearly 70 million people in the country who cannot read but, nevertheless, have the ability to enjoy a book or get information if book publishers take care to use the technology.

We want that people with disabilities should also be able to enjoy popular books like White Tiger or Five Point Someone. But for this, a lot needs to be done. The outdated copyright act needs to be amended so books can be converted to form which is accessible like audio books. Many publishers and writers do not give permission to have their books converted, says Nirmita Narasimhan, programme manager of CIS. As Amina flashes her wide grin, she seems just like any other normal 12-year-old child. However, a learning disorder stopped future studies for her and now her parents want to get her settled in life. I want to study further, was all she said. Amina has come from a small town in Bihar and is in Delhi with an NGO that is helping her adjust to life as a dyslexic. Another participant in the campaign, Manoj, is blind. While he learned braille several years ago, his biggest regret is that because of his disability, he cannot enjoy the latest bestsellers. I read whatever books are available in braille. Popular books are never accessible to me, he said.

The nationwide campaign began last year and since then has taken place in Kolkata and Mumbai, with Delhi being the third destination. The campaign seeks to draw attention to the fact that out of nearly 100,000 books that are published each year, barely 700 are available to people who cannot read print. The books can be converted into formats like braille, audio and large print to make them accessible to disabled people using screen readers (talking software) but its rarely done, said a campaign volunteer. Members of the campaign claimed that according to World Blind Union nearly 5% books are available to print-impaired persons in the developed countries. But in India the number of such books is just 0.5%. Javed Abidi, convener of Disabled Rights Group and one of the key-note speakers in the campaign, said: Mostly its the visually impaired who have carry out the task to make the books more accessible to them. They have to scan the book and convert it and so that they can enjoy it. This needs to be changed. The onus should be on the publishers so books are made accessible to everyone.

The leaders of the campaign approached Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal when he came to speak at the inauguration ceremony of the fair. The minister said he has already done a lot for disabled citizens. Since the campaign was launched, over 600 authors and publishers have pledged their support to the campaign. While technology has enabled the print-impaired community to access print materials in electronic formats that can be read using assistive technologies, converting books to these formats is not permitted by the law. The campaign also seeks necessary amendments in the Indian Copyright Act, said Narasimhan.

This article written by Richi Verma

Source: The Times of India, January 31, 2010

Use new tech to let books speak

Fifteen-year-old Ravi has never read a book. Diagnosed with a brain disorder when he was just three years old, he was taught how to read in a school for special children. But apart from some local newspapers and occasional letters from his family, he could never manage to enjoy a book because reading printed words was never comfortable to him. On Saturday, Ravi was among the 300 print-impaired people all dressed in identical blue sweatshirts and suffering from various disabilities like blindness, autism, dyslexia etc who gathered at Pragati Maidan as the World Book Fair kicked off. Taking part in Right to Read campaign organized by Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), they tried to create awareness about the plight of nearly 70 million people in the country who cannot read but, nevertheless, have the ability to enjoy a book or get information if book publishers take care to use the technology.

We want that people with disabilities should also be able to enjoy popular books like White Tiger or Five Point Someone. But for this, a lot needs to be done. The outdated copyright act needs to be amended so books can be converted to form which is accessible like audio books. Many publishers and writers do not give permission to have their books converted, says Nirmita Narasimhan, programme manager of CIS. As Amina flashes her wide grin, she seems just like any other normal 12-year-old child. However, a learning disorder stopped future studies for her and now her parents want to get her settled in life. I want to study further, was all she said. Amina has come from a small town in Bihar and is in Delhi with an NGO that is helping her adjust to life as a dyslexic. Another participant in the campaign, Manoj, is blind. While he learned braille several years ago, his biggest regret is that because of his disability, he cannot enjoy the latest bestsellers. I read whatever books are available in braille. Popular books are never accessible to me, he said.

The nationwide campaign began last year and since then has taken place in Kolkata and Mumbai, with Delhi being the third destination. The campaign seeks to draw attention to the fact that out of nearly 100,000 books that are published each year, barely 700 are available to people who cannot read print. The books can be converted into formats like braille, audio and large print to make them accessible to disabled people using screen readers (talking software) but its rarely done, said a campaign volunteer. Members of the campaign claimed that according to World Blind Union nearly 5% books are available to print-impaired persons in the developed countries. But in India the number of such books is just 0.5%. Javed Abidi, convener of Disabled Rights Group and one of the key-note speakers in the campaign, said: Mostly its the visually impaired who have carry out the task to make the books more accessible to them. They have to scan the book and convert it and so that they can enjoy it. This needs to be changed. The onus should be on the publishers so books are made accessible to everyone.

The leaders of the campaign approached Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal when he came to speak at the inauguration ceremony of the fair. The minister said he has already done a lot for disabled citizens. Since the campaign was launched, over 600 authors and publishers have pledged their support to the campaign. While technology has enabled the print-impaired community to access print materials in electronic formats that can be read using assistive technologies, converting books to these formats is not permitted by the law. The campaign also seeks necessary amendments in the Indian Copyright Act, said Narasimhan.

This article written by Richi Verma

Source: The Times of India, January 31, 2010

Use new tech to let books speak

Fifteen-year-old Ravi has never read a book. Diagnosed with a brain disorder when he was just three years old, he was taught how to read in a school for special children. But apart from some local newspapers and occasional letters from his family, he could never manage to enjoy a book because reading printed words was never comfortable to him. On Saturday, Ravi was among the 300 print-impaired people all dressed in identical blue sweatshirts and suffering from various disabilities like blindness, autism, dyslexia etc who gathered at Pragati Maidan as the World Book Fair kicked off. Taking part in Right to Read campaign organized by Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), they tried to create awareness about the plight of nearly 70 million people in the country who cannot read but, nevertheless, have the ability to enjoy a book or get information if book publishers take care to use the technology.

We want that people with disabilities should also be able to enjoy popular books like White Tiger or Five Point Someone. But for this, a lot needs to be done. The outdated copyright act needs to be amended so books can be converted to form which is accessible like audio books. Many publishers and writers do not give permission to have their books converted, says Nirmita Narasimhan, programme manager of CIS. As Amina flashes her wide grin, she seems just like any other normal 12-year-old child. However, a learning disorder stopped future studies for her and now her parents want to get her settled in life. I want to study further, was all she said. Amina has come from a small town in Bihar and is in Delhi with an NGO that is helping her adjust to life as a dyslexic. Another participant in the campaign, Manoj, is blind. While he learned braille several years ago, his biggest regret is that because of his disability, he cannot enjoy the latest bestsellers. I read whatever books are available in braille. Popular books are never accessible to me, he said.

The nationwide campaign began last year and since then has taken place in Kolkata and Mumbai, with Delhi being the third destination. The campaign seeks to draw attention to the fact that out of nearly 100,000 books that are published each year, barely 700 are available to people who cannot read print. The books can be converted into formats like braille, audio and large print to make them accessible to disabled people using screen readers (talking software) but its rarely done, said a campaign volunteer. Members of the campaign claimed that according to World Blind Union nearly 5% books are available to print-impaired persons in the developed countries. But in India the number of such books is just 0.5%. Javed Abidi, convener of Disabled Rights Group and one of the key-note speakers in the campaign, said: Mostly its the visually impaired who have carry out the task to make the books more accessible to them. They have to scan the book and convert it and so that they can enjoy it. This needs to be changed. The onus should be on the publishers so books are made accessible to everyone.

The leaders of the campaign approached Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal when he came to speak at the inauguration ceremony of the fair. The minister said he has already done a lot for disabled citizens. Since the campaign was launched, over 600 authors and publishers have pledged their support to the campaign. While technology has enabled the print-impaired community to access print materials in electronic formats that can be read using assistive technologies, converting books to these formats is not permitted by the law. The campaign also seeks necessary amendments in the Indian Copyright Act, said Narasimhan.

This article written by Richi Verma

Source: The Times of India, January 31, 2010

Global economic recovery still in fragile zone: IMF chief

The theme is still cautiously optimistic, despite the numbers from the U.S. What we are seeing in the U.S. is a statistical recovery and a human recession. This suggests that the policies to contain the economic collapse have been successful. My judgmentand most peoples judgmentwill be that GDP growth will continue at a moderate rate at least for the next several quarters, said Larry Summers, Economic Adviser to the U.S. IMF’s Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Asia is leading the world out of recovery, but though growth is coming back faster than expected its still fragile.

The consensus from a phalanx of policymakers around the world was that the global recovery is still very delicate , and Asia and emerging markets are zipping back to recovery much faster than the developed economies. Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told the gathering, Asia has weathered this crisis …. We would hope in coming years we will move from 7.5% to over 8% next year then get back into 9%. Its going to be domestic investment replacing what has otherwise been export demand. I don’t think the deficit will be more than 2.5% of GDP. In addition, Deputy Governor of China’s Peoples Bank Zhu Min added that the focus in China will shift to a more balanced growth, and to the aim is to boost consumption growth and domestic demand hopefully the international environment is good, he said.

At one level, central bankers, private bankers and economic ministers met for an extremely private chat about what to do about banking reforms, and while Davos is not a venue for decisions, it seems, from reports, everyone agreed that something will be done. Up the road, trade ministers met for a chat about the future of the WTO. The Indian delegation, though somewhat depleted, was still going strong, and the afternoon session on Indias future growth strategy was packed to the back of the hall. This year though, the annual gathering at Davos has left many a bit confused, with no real dominant theme emerging.

Source: Excerpted from The Economic Times, January 31, 2010