India is facing a significant economic

As with most other places in the world, India is facing a significant economic slowdown that is aggravating an already serious liquidity crisis. The government is finding it increasingly difficult to implement additional fiscal or monetary measures, and as a result, has tried to bring liquidity by lifting FDI restrictions and attempting to lure back foreign investment. But politics is getting in the way. The government cannot allow political expediency to derail the progressive lifting of FDI restrictions, even during tough times like these. Many international companies are still looking to enter the country, despite facing enormous uncertainties about their financial health in their existing markets. With a more open India, they will enter and bring with them a significant amount of capital investment and managerial expertise. This will help India pull out of the recession in the short to medium term and also help establish the conditions to sustain economic growth over the long term. Indian companies will use the additional funds from their foreign partners to keep their staff employed and continue with capital expansion plans. Indian companies with global ambitions will have greater access to world-class infrastructure and managerial knowledge that will enable them to better compete around the globe. With increased competition, Indian consumers will be able enjoy the highest-quality products at the lowest cost.
Indicorps offers prestigious grassroots public service fellowship to implement sustainable development projects with community-based organizations across India. As a total-immersion leadership program, Indicorps will encourage you to explore your role as a catalyst of change. Fellowship projects promote both personal growth and collective action towards a secular India that is inclusive, peaceful, and participatory. The program requires a minimum commitment of one year. Investors constantly hunt for alternative assets that might improve the risk-adjusted returns on their financial portfolios. When stock markets experience a downswing, investors search for more profitable alternatives. Financial newspapers fill headlines with record prices paid for certain works of art, giving rise to the idea that investing in art might be a profitable pursuit. Moreover, Artprice recently reported a booming emerging art market for Russia, 780% growth for the Chinese15 (contemporary) art market since 2001, and 830% for the Indian (contemporary) art market inthe past decade. To determine if these reported returns are feasible and indicate reasonable investment alternatives, we analyze whether investing in emerging art markets yields a competitive risk-adjustedreturn in comparison with other, more traditional asset classes that could be used optimally todiversify a financial portfolio.
India exhibits the strongest Sharpe ratio of all three emerging art markets and by far the strongest average annual return. Moreover, the Indian art index has a negative market beta and a nearly zero correlation with the S&P 500, which makes it another interesting investment for a well-diversified portfolio.I know very little about art or art markets, since my “right brain” never progressed beyond those sunsets and sunrises in 4th grade, and hence can’t really offer any opinions hereThe Fellowship starts on August 15, 2009. Housing and food are provided and a small stipend will cover basic living expenses.Ila Patnaik and Lant Pritchett discuss the problems facing Indian policy makers.