Latest news with #Veeramani
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
A trade arrangement that leaves out the US could trump Trump's tariffs
Donald Trump rambles on in his second term as US president, disrupting institutions and policies both at home and abroad. Several months on, his behaviour reveals a pattern, even if it is somewhat fuzzy. He lays down his cards with outrageous announcements and then back-tracks, especially in bilateral negotiations. It is a pattern repeated in his domestic interventions in different fields as well as his dealings with US neighbours like Canada and Mexico, allies like the UK, EU, Japan and Korea, rivals like China and Russia, and other countries like India. Also Read: Trial by Trump: Ramaphosa may well have emerged stronger from the Oval Office But how much he will backtrack in a particular case, if he backtracks at all, remains uncertain. Indeed, uncertainty is the leitmotif of Trump's exercise of raw power. Given this, specifically in the context of trade and tariffs, I asked Professor C. Veeramani, one of India's leading trade economists, what the outcome would be if other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) continued to trade in compliance with WTO rules but without the US. It is as if the other WTO members—or most of them—were to forge a massive free trade agreement (FTA) without the US. This is a most unlikely scenario. Other countries, especially allies of the US, are too tied up with the US through security and other linkages for them to decouple from the US in the field of trade. However, economists follow this method of abstracting from the real-world to first address a question in a very simplified context, constructed through simplifying assumptions—which is sometimes called a model. The question is then revisited as the context is gradually enriched by incorporating stylized facts from ground reality to verify whether the original conclusion survives successive approximations back to the real world. Hence, my hypothetical question for Veeramani. His answer is quite interesting. Also Read: Trump shock: Here's a 4-D formula for policymakers to track it Veeramani said that the US accounts for a small fraction of global trade. Current data indicates that its share is down to 10% and declining. Meanwhile, the share of China, the EU and emerging market economies has been rising. In other words, 90% of global trade occurs without any direct US participation. An FTA among major non-US economies, including the EU, Asean, China, Japan, India, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, etc, would deepen supply chain integration among these countries by reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers. Assume, conservatively, that this non-US trade bloc initially accounts for 60% of global trade. Assume further that deeper integration among them raises intra-bloc trade by 5-10 percentage points over the medium term. A part of this would be attributable to trade diversion from the US, with consequent adverse effects on the US economy. But the rest would be additional trade creation. Overall global trade could increase by 3-6 percentage points, by Veeramani's estimate. Also Read: Trump's trade agenda: About US jobs or global supremacy? Depending on the relevant response elasticities and complementary policy reforms in these countries, global GDP could also go up by 0.5-1 percentage point. But the impact on the US economy would be negative. Its share of world trade and GDP would decline, while that of European economies and the emerging economies of Asia, Africa and Latin America would rise. The scenario described above is unlikely. The rest of the world is unlikely to decouple from the US because of their security and other linkages cited earlier. Nevertheless, this boundary scenario yields an important qualitative conclusion: namely, that the path Trump has chosen is likely to hurt America, while other countries are likely to be better off. This only captures the impact on the global economy via the trade channel; this is indeed one of the main channels through which US policies will impact the world economy. But there are two other economic channels that also need to be considered: finance and technology. Also Read: Ajit Ranade: Decode Trump's trade strategy for India's own game plan As for the financial channel, a large number of countries in the Asean region and West Asia are already reported to be participating in a payment system promoted by the central bank of China, presumably supported by US-sanctioned countries like Russia and Iran, as a more efficient alternative to Swift. The more the US attempts to isolate its geopolitical rivals, the more it will accelerate a worldwide shift away from the present US-dominated global financial architecture. The market mechanism can bite in both directions. The battle for access to technology—and it is indeed a battle—is mainly being fought on the artificial intelligence (AI) front. When the US government tried to block China's access to recent advances in large language models with Generative AI capability developed in US companies, China shocked the world with its own Generative AI products, made available for free—or a fraction of the prices charged by US companies. As with the financial architecture, so also here: the more the US attempts to isolate its rivals, the faster it will drive them to develop their own competing technologies. Also Read: How Trumpian volatility is forcing policy changes in China This column has been limited to the economic domain and not gone into security relationships. In this domain, the lesson is very clear: the more that Trump pursues a pugnacious approach to subdue US neighbours, allies and rivals, the more he is likely to hurt America and help its rivals. In this context, the wisdom of India's approach of 'strategic autonomy' should be evident to all. These are the author's personal views. The author is chairman, Centre for Development Studies.
India Today
20-05-2025
- India Today
Three dead after wall collapses due to heavy rain in Tamil Nadu's Madurai
Three people, including a woman and her grandson, died after a wall collapsed due to heavy rainfall in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu. The deceased were identified as Ammappillai, aged 65, her 10-year-old grandson Veeramani, and their neighbour Vengatti, aged incident occurred around 7 pm on Monday, May 19, while the victims were sitting and talking near the doorway of their house in Valayankulam near Thiruparankundram. According to the police, the wall suddenly collapsed due to the rain. Neighbours rushed to help and took the injured to Valayankulam Government Hospital, where Vengatti was declared dead. Ammappillai and Veeramani were referred to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai for further treatment, but both succumbed to their injuries Perungudi Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the wall collapse. Speaking to reporters, Arvind, Superintendent of Police (SP), Madurai district, confirmed that the case is under investigation. This comes a day after a 35-year-old woman, Shashikala, died in Bengaluru's Mahadevapura area, after a compound wall collapsed on her. The incident occurred when she arrived at i-Zed company in Channasandra, where she worked as a rainfall is suspected to have weakened the wall, causing it to give way. Shashikala died on the spot. She is survived by her husband, a daily wage labourer, and their two young children. The family hails from Shahapur, Yadgir district in Karnataka. The Karnataka government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the victim's Watch IN THIS STORY#Tamil Nadu
The Hindu
12-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Awareness on online admission process in government arts and science colleges yet to trickle down to applicants from rural parts
Though the Higher Education Department started implementing online system for Tamil Nadu Government Arts and Science Colleges Admissions (TNGASA) since 2021, college heads in Coimbatore say students seeking admissions still ask for applications in print. For instance, the Government Arts and Science College (autonomous), Coimbatore, had, made it known that applications will not be issued in the college campus, and called upon students to apply through the website 'Students and parents are requested not to come in person,' Principal M.R. Yezhili had requested. The college has been the second most preferred government college next only to Presidency College, Chennai, for years now. The Admission Facilitation Centre in the college began enabling the students belonging to rural parts to apply for admission into the colleges and courses of their choice by making an order of choices. The students have to be educated that a single application would suffice for 176 Government Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu, T. Veeramani, Principal, Government Arts and Science College for Women, said. Two faculty members are deputed every day to handle the online admission process for the students from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. At least 30 students turn up every day, Prof. Veeramani said. Right from user registration, the staff help out the students to log in, fill in personal information, and furnish details pertaining to special reservation, scholarship, school of study, and academic qualification. For a number of students, the staff at the facilitation centres have even created the email ids, Prof. Veeramani said. In a way, the personal visits are helpful for students coming from other districts. The students visit the colleges to learn about the facilities and the availability of hostels. Not all students succeed in gaining entry into the government hostels. The visits serve the purpose of knowing about the presence of private hostels in the vicinity, and to determine their economic capacity to sustain the expenditure. Nevertheless, the college heads opine that the information on the online admission process must be disseminated to the students well in advance at their respective schools.
New Indian Express
01-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Infant abandoned on train admitted to shelter home in Salem
SALEM: The railway police rescued an eight-month-old boy at the Salem railway station in the early hours of Wednesday. At Madurai railway station one unidentified passenger handed over the baby boy to another passenger, Veeramani, telling him that he would be back after getting a water bottle. However, the person failed to claim the baby even after the Nagercoil to Bangalore train ( No 17236) in which they were travelling, reached the Dindigul station, said railway police. Veeramani, who is working as an assistant director in the Kollywood industry, alerted the railway helpline 139. Based on the information, Sub-Inspector Kothandapani and First-Grade Woman Police Constable Ramya received the boy from Veeramani at the Salem Railway Station at 3.30am and handed over the boy to the District Child Welfare Officer at 4am. Currently, the boy is under care at a government-approved home in Salem. Sources in the district administration say that no one has approached to claim the boy until Wednesday evening.
Malay Mail
25-04-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Preserving a dying art: Inside Ipoh's last traditional print shop
IPOH, April 26 — The Star Printing Shop may be the last of its kind, a living testament to the traditional art of hand-press printing. Established in 1933, the shop exudes a sense of timelessness as you step inside, with walls stripped of paint, chipped and faded from years of use. The machines, though worn, stand as relics of a bygone era, enduring for decades, while dusty shelves overflow with printing materials. The shop has now adapted, to some degree of computerised printing, to survive in the modern market. However, the old printing machines, which are unique and rare, are still carefully preserved. Owner C. Veeramani, 65, said that the goal is to keep the shop alive for people to appreciate and understand how printing was done in the past. 'Despite transitioning to computerised printing about 15 years ago, we continue to maintain all the old machines, as they are rare and considered antiques. 'The reason is that we want people, especially future generations, to understand how printing was done in those days. 'It was much more challenging compared to the ease of digital printing,' he told Malay Mail during a visit to the shop on Jalan Sultan Yussof here. Veeramani explained that he comes from a long line of printers, with his grandparents having started a printing press — a tradition passed down to his father and now to him. Veeramani with the Alexandra press, which is believed to be more than 120 years old. — Picture by John Bunyan 'My father took over the printing business from my grandfather in the 1930s,' Veeramani said, adding that he began learning the trade in his youth. 'In 1987, I bought Star Printing Works to start my own business. The man running the printing press at the time was elderly and wanted to return to India, so he sold it to me,' he said. He also said that the shop already had traditional printing machines that are rare when he took over. 'One of the machines is called the Alexandra press, which is made in the United Kingdom, and to my knowledge, the machine could be more than 120 years old. 'We also have other machines, such as one from the United States, which is 90 years old, and a Heidelberg machine from Germany, which is about 70 years old,' he said. The Heidelberg printing machine from Germany is about 70 years old. — Picture by John Bunyan While maintaining the old machines is not as burdensome now, given that most of the work is done using modern methods, Veeramani explained that this was not the case when they relied entirely on the machines in the past. 'These machines are imported and one of a kind, so it's not easy to find spare parts locally if something breaks or gets damaged. 'We often have to modify some of the spare parts to keep the machines running. We usually refer the broken parts to engineering shops that are willing to fix them for us, and it doesn't come cheap,' he said. He noted that his business is facing fierce competition from newcomers who use advanced technology in printing. 'Our business has obviously declined, but we are still surviving. We have loyal customers who continue to seek us out for printing work. 'To date, we still print billboards, wedding invitations, business cards, calendars, pamphlets and even school magazines,' he said. However, Veeramani noted that the future of the printing shop looks bleak. 'We are still running the business, but not sure for how long. After me, there is no one else to take over this business. 'And at the moment, we have a limited amount of people who know about this old trade,' he added. He also expressed hope and willingness to allow the government or tourism stakeholders to take over the shop and convert it into a museum or printing exhibition centre, as he wants the tradition to be preserved. 'To this day, I have students and foreigners visiting the shop for academic and tourism purposes. Some even come just to see the old printing methods. Veeramani expressed hope that the government or tourism stakeholders can take over his shop and convert it into a museum or printing exhibition centre. — Picture by John Bunyan 'If we close the shop now, I'm sure most people will never know how printing was done in those days as we are the last traditional printing shop,' he said.
