Apple investors could see their investments surge even further Christmas as the US stock market trends during Christmas eve has shown an upward surge for the company, right from the opening bell. According to The Street, Apple touched a record high of $255.65 on December 23, and if this trend goes on, Apple shares could touch a major peak as New Year approaches. When the closing bell rang on December 23 at Wall Street, Apple maintained its peak, closing in at $255.27. ET Year-end Special Reads It's all Gucci for Indians' luxury craving even as economy shows wrinkles Investing in 2025: Will domestic funds continue to counter FPI sell-offs amid rising valuations? 2024 exposed the underbelly of India's Silicon Valley Is Apple's demand at the stock market rising? The demand for Apple shares have increased significantly over the last few months owing to its massive research into the field of AI. Its market capitalization ahs also increased considerably, along with other major AI-based stocks, including the likes of Nvidia, IBM and others. Apple rolled out iOS 18.2 recently, which is a major software update featuring advanced AI capabilities. This major upgrade also includes ChatGPT support within Siri, as a part of giving writing tools a major advantage for Apple users. These latest upgrades and utilization of AI has helped Apple touch a huge stock figure, that is not looking at coming down anytime soon. Meanwhile, market trends a showing that existing Apple investors would get the maximum benefit of this rise, but new investors should proceed with caution if they are to buy Apple shares, since any crash would mean they could lose out on major chunk of investment. FAQs: Is Apple's stock going to grow further? Yes, after Apple's decision of working on AI-reliant services, it's stock has shot through the roof, and is now growing at a phenomenal pace. Has the Nvidia stock crashed in the past few days? No, the Nvidia stock has not crashed in the last few days, and has instead been on a superb run for a long time now. Web Development Java 21 Essentials for Beginners: Build Strong Programming Foundations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Microsoft Word Mastery: From Beginner to Expert By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Finance A2Z Of Money By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Django & PostgreSQL Mastery: Build Professional Web Applications By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI-Powered Python Mastery with Tabnine: Boost Your Coding Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Entrepreneurship Building Your Winning Startup Team: Key Strategies for Success By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Web Development JavaScript Essentials: Unlock AI-Driven Insights with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Design Microsoft Designer Guide: The Ultimate AI Design Tool By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Design Canva Magic Write: Ideas to Stunning Slides in No Time By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Basics of Generative AI: Unveiling Tomorrows Innovations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Entrepreneurship Validating Your Startup Idea: Steps to Ensure Market Fit By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Tally Prime & GST Accounting: Complete Guide By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Finance Crypto & NFT Mastery: From Basics to Advanced By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Leadership Business Storytelling Masterclass By - Ameen Haque, Founder of Storywallahs View Program Data Analysis Animated Visualizations with Flourish Studio: Beginner to Pro By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
McDonald believes support for Sinn Féin higher than what polls show
How to Watch Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Games – Monday, November 25
Telecom Egypt and China Mobile International (CMI) have inked a strategic commercial partnership agreement to leverage the investments of both companies in subsea cable infrastructure and share resources to address the rapidly growing data needs of businesses and consumers worldwide. The agreement was signed by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CMI Wang Hua and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Telecom Egypt Mohamed Nasr. This partnership entails a set of innovative, enterprise-grade digital and business services tailored to meet the dynamic needs of enterprises in Egypt and across the region. This strategic agreement signals a key step towards deepening partnership between CMI, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Mobile-renowned for operating the world’s largest network, -and Telecom Egypt, the total telecom services provider in Egypt and one of the largest subsea cables operators in the region. The international infrastructure commercial agreement is deemed a key element of partnership between Telecom Egypt and CMI and is meant to expand the global reach of both companies, reinforcing their shared commitment to delivering high-quality, uninterrupted services in an increasingly interconnected world. Through combining CMI’s advanced digital solutions with Telecom Egypt’s robust nationwide infrastructure, extensive market expertise, and widespread regional reach, both organizations will explore customized DICT (Digital, Information, Communication, and Technology) solutions to advance smart services for enterprises, according to a statement issued by CMI on Tuesday. The collaboration in meant to empower businesses with scalable solutions that drive digital transformation and reinforce their positions as leaders in the enterprise services market, the statement added.
The beginning of a new year holds so much promise: new breakthroughs, releases, and successes all hang in the balance. At the same time, the last few days of the year provide a perfect vantage point to look clearly at how the past 12 months have panned out and use this knowledge to help decide which successes are the most likely – and which may not pan out. As 2024 draws to a close, the ITPro team has drawn together some closing thoughts on the biggest trends of the past year and the technologies that could come to define 2025. AI continues to lead conversations Every member of the ITPro team points to AI as the standout focus for the IT industry in 2025, as vendors look to improve the sophistication of generative AI models and C-suites aim for better ROI on AI investments they've made in the past year or two. Jane McCallion, managing editor at ITPro, argues that AI will dominate 2025 even without any significant technological breakthroughs. This, she explains, is because businesses will finally be able to make good on AI spending. "Organizations, having thrown money at AI investment in the abstract, may finally establish what they really want to use it for," says McCallion. An outlier model for AI that's already leading conversations as we go into the new year is the use of AI agents, generative AI models that can complete tasks autonomously, with all the hyperscalers and major AI vendors having released their own agentic AI offerings. Get the ITPro. daily newsletter Receive our latest news, industry updates, featured resources and more. Sign up today to receive our FREE report on AI cyber crime & security - newly updated for 2024. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors "We've spent more than a year trying to work out how impactful AI assistants and 'copilots' will be for enterprises, and how they'll support workers," says Ross Kelly, news & analysis editor at ITPro.... ITProSuchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26. Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI’s strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products. “We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir’s loved ones during this difficult time,” said a statement from OpenAI. This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said “appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation.” The city’s chief medical examiner’s office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide. His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a “happy, smart and brave young man” who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends. Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT. “Suchir’s contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn’t have succeeded without him,” said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what made him such an exceptional engineer and scientist was his attention to detail and ability to notice subtle bugs or logical errors. “He had a knack for finding simple solutions and writing elegant code that worked,” Schulman wrote. “He’d think through the details of things carefully and rigorously.” Balaji later shifted to organizing the huge datasets of online writings and other media used to train GPT-4, the fourth generation of OpenAI’s flagship large language model and a basis for the company’s famous chatbot. It was that work that eventually caused Balaji to question the technology he helped build, especially after newspapers, novelists and others began suing OpenAI and other AI companies for copyright infringement. He first raised his concerns with The New York Times, which reported them in an October profile of Balaji. He later told The Associated Press he would “try to testify” in the strongest copyright infringement cases and considered a lawsuit brought by The New York Times last year to be the “most serious.” Times lawyers named him in a Nov. 18 court filing as someone who might have “unique and relevant documents” supporting allegations of OpenAI’s willful copyright infringement. His records were also sought by lawyers in a separate case brought by book authors including the comedian Sarah Silverman, according to a court filing. “It doesn’t feel right to be training on people’s data and then competing with them in the marketplace,” Balaji told the AP in late October. “I don’t think you should be able to do that. I don’t think you are able to do that legally.” He told the AP that he gradually grew more disillusioned with OpenAI, especially after the internal turmoil that led its board of directors to fire and then rehire CEO Sam Altman last year. Balaji said he was broadly concerned about how its commercial products were rolling out, including their propensity for spouting false information known as hallucinations. But of the “bag of issues” he was concerned about, he said he was focusing on copyright as the one it was “actually possible to do something about.” He acknowledged that it was an unpopular opinion within the AI research community, which is accustomed to pulling data from the internet, but said “they will have to change and it’s a matter of time.” He had not been deposed and it’s unclear to what extent his revelations will be admitted as evidence in any legal cases after his death. He also published a personal blog post with his opinions about the topic. Schulman, who resigned from OpenAI in August, said he and Balaji coincidentally left on the same day and celebrated with fellow colleagues that night with dinner and drinks at a San Francisco bar. Another of Balaji’s mentors, co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, had left OpenAI several months earlier, which Balaji saw as another impetus to leave. Schulman said Balaji had told him earlier this year of his plans to leave OpenAI and that Balaji didn’t think that better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence “was right around the corner, like the rest of the company seemed to believe.” The younger engineer expressed interest in getting a doctorate and exploring “some more off-the-beaten path ideas about how to build intelligence,” Schulman said. Balaji’s family said a memorial is being planned for later this month at the India Community Center in Milpitas, California, not far from his hometown of Cupertino. —————-- The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP’s text archives.Education minister opens Saudi Arabia’s first technical high school for gifted boys
Facepalm: Sony planned to start shipping its enhanced PS5 Pro console this week, but it appears that Christmas has come early for some. Some retailers across Europe have already received PS5 Pro units, and a handful of lucky buyers have even managed to get theirs ahead of schedule. As a result, multiple hands-on impressions have already surfaced online. One notable snippet comes from videotechuk on X, possibly giving us the first real look at the PS5 Pro's specs and performance capabilities. So far, Sony has only provided vague figures like "up to 45 percent faster rendering," but an official instruction manual reveals the real specifications. The highlight is a robust 16.7 teraflops of GPU power – a substantial jump from the regular PS5's 10.28 teraflops. The PS5 Pro also doubles the storage capacity with a 2TB SSD and includes an additional 2GB of DDR5 RAM, boosting the previous models' 16GB of unified memory. This extra RAM is likely intended to add dedicated processing power for Sony's PSSR AI upscaling technology, enhancing visual quality for 4K displays. PS5 Pro specs are officially out thanks to early shipments arriving to buyers in foreign countries Has 16GB of RAM for developers, 2GB module for the system (18GB RAM) and a 16.7 teraflop GPU. Can't wait to see what Rockstar cooks with this hardware pic.twitter.com/XCGqhQc3GB Additional upgrades include Wi-Fi 7 support for ultra-fast wireless connectivity and an extra USB-C port, perfect for connecting accessories or external storage. Power consumption has increased as well, with the Pro drawing up to 390W compared to the base PS5's 350W. Beyond these specs, we already know quite a bit about the PS5 Pro's inner workings. The console retains the AMD Zen 2 architecture from its predecessor – likely a deliberate choice to ensure compatibility and simplify optimization for developers. However, the GPU has been upgraded from RDNA 2 to RDNA 4, which is expected to deliver a significant 2-3x performance boost on games labeled "PS5 Pro Enhanced." Adding a unique perspective, a video teardown from what seems to be a Portuguese repair shop reveals that the PS5 Pro's internals are quite similar to those of the PS5 Slim. The layouts are so similar that PS5 Slim faceplates would have been cross-compatible – if not for Sony modifying the interlocking mechanism to prevent that. All in all, the PS5 Pro is a significant release for Sony, especially as Microsoft has yet to announce a similar mid-generation refresh for Xbox. This could help solidify PlayStation's technical lead in the current generation. That said, we'll need to get our hands on final retail units to truly assess the PS5 Pro's performance in actual gameplay. While the 16.7 teraflops spec might suggest a 67 percent increase in frame rates over the standard PS5, teraflops are not always a reliable measure of real-world performance.Share a virtual helicopter with fair dinkum Hollywood royalty as the secrets of ancient landscapes are conquered by high-tech drones in Australia's vast, rugged northwest. "It gets under your skin. It's one of the last truly great wildernesses left on Earth," Luke Hemsworth, older brother to Liam and Chris, tells fellow explorers on a virtual flight into the Kimberley region. Isolation has helped to preserve the remote part of Western Australia as a biodiversity hotspot and keeper of deep-time stories. It is home to some of the world's biggest tides, rock formations that date back two billion years, and the world's oldest rock art galleries that have layers of images where artists have returned several thousand years after the first painters. Hemsworth says the area has always had an "inexplicable pull" for him, so when he finished high school in Melbourne he flew to the remote northwest region of Australia to work on a pearl farm and explore. He was also an obvious choice for the latest ground-breaking virtual reality (VR) documentary from award-winning Australian filmmaker Briege Whitehead. "There really is nowhere else like it on the planet," Hemsworth says, as narrator of The Great Kimberley Wilderness by White Spark Pictures. Whitehead says it took four years to create the 35-minute film, the first of a three-film deal with the National Museum of Australia, the Western Australian Museum, Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum and ScreenWest. "There's a lot of innovative technology that's going into it ... for the night-time lapses in particular," she said. A scene where the Milky Way perfectly aligns within Cathedral Gorge, which only happens for three nights of the year, required custom-built equipment they developed with tech giant Canon and local firm Camera Electronic. Otherwise, the cameras used for 360-degree filming look like giant soccer balls, with eight lenses around them to create the sense of immersion. "It is essentially eight cameras in one, to achieve shots like that," Whitehead explained. Nor was there a drone set-up available off the shelf that could carry a 6.5kg, 360-degree camera so they customised that with internationally renowned XM2, which also worked with environmentalist Bob Brown on his recent film The Giants. White Spark Pictures says it is the first in the world to produce high-resolution video that is 360-degree and 3D, with drone shots that are then stabilised using their own technology. "We shoot everything between 8K and 12K, so as VR headsets get better and better, it's already future-proofed," Whitehead said. "We do all our sound mixing at Warner Bros in LA, and this was the first film that we've done Dolby Atmos theatrical VR sound mix - it's a first in the world for this medium, which is also why it sounds so amazing." Working with more than 11 Indigenous communities, Whitehead said creating the sense of presence required a "very fine balance" to be struck in what stories they wanted to tell - to simultaneously avert future foot traffic and welcome people to explore in the right way. The audience can journey to the three-tiered waterfalls in Carr-Boyd Ranges, filmed on Miriuwung Country, and to Oomari (King George Falls), filmed on Balanggarra Country, where a tourist could not go for cultural reasons. Aerial views of the pindan cliffs coastline at Walmadany (James Price Point), filmed on Jabirr Jabirr Country, take virtual explorers to the stunning headland north of Broome that was once a proposed location for a gas terminal. White Spark Pictures' head of operations Benn Ellard said the one thing they wanted people to take away from the film was a sense of belonging. "VR as a medium is a powerful tool for empathy ... by building a connection to country and to have people care for country as if it was their own," he said. The doco has debuted in Perth and opened on Boxing Day at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh , who died at 92 on Thursday night, was a man of many legacies in a political firmament in which far more entrenched career politicians struggle to make a mark. He first secured his spot in India’s political map as executor—under the stewardship of PV Narasimha Rao—of the landmark economic liberalisation programme that broke the shackles of the licence raj and opened up India’s socialist-oriented economic policies to the free market, ushering in the era of rising economic growth and the emergence of the aspirational Indian. Those policies would ultimately result in India becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies. ET Year-end Special Reads Corporate Kalesh: Top family disputes of India Inc in 2024 The world of business lost these eminent people in 2024 Fast, faster, fastest: How 2024 put more speed into your shopping He was finance minister in the Rao government from 1991 to 1996, having been RBI governor in 1982-85 as well as CEA in the 1970s. He would go on to serve as PM from 2004 to 2014. Story of Grit and Determination Singh was the first Indian technocrat to reach the pinnacle of power in the political world, becoming the longest-serving Congress Prime Minister from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family, that too with two consecutive full terms, something that no one had achieved after Jawaharlal Nehru, before Narendra Modi equalled the first PM’s three consecutive electoral victories this year. What many dyed-in-the-wool politicians admired, and envied, was what they saw as his amazing fate line, packed with serial lucky breaks that took him to the top political office of the country, without having any hands-on experience in realpolitik, despite being a Rajya Sabha and CWC member. He also didn’t enjoy mass appeal or have a social base. In fact, he lost the only election he contested—he came to parliament through the Rajya Sabha. His entry into the political arena came as finance minister after Rao’s first choice for the job, ex-RBI governor IG Patel, declined the post. Singh’s biggest break, becoming Prime Minister, came after the triumphant UPA-Left alliance’s unanimous choice Sonia Gandhi turned down the top post in 2004. One can safely say that Singh was a leader who often had greatness thrust upon him. Artificial Intelligence(AI) Java Programming with ChatGPT: Learn using Generative AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Basics of Generative AI: Unveiling Tomorrows Innovations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Mastering C++ Fundamentals with Generative AI: A Hands-On By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Master in Python Language Quickly Using the ChatGPT Open AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Performance Marketing for eCommerce Brands By - Zafer Mukeri, Founder- Inara Marketers View Program Office Productivity Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance A2Z Of Money By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Marketing Modern Marketing Masterclass by Seth Godin By - Seth Godin, Former dot com Business Executive and Best Selling Author View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Strategy Succession Planning Masterclass By - Nigel Penny, Global Strategy Advisor: NSP Strategy Facilitation Ltd. View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Web Development A Comprehensive ASP.NET Core MVC 6 Project Guide for 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI-Powered Python Mastery with Tabnine: Boost Your Coding Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital marketing - Wordpress Website Development By - Shraddha Somani, Digital Marketing Trainer, Consultant, Strategiest and Subject Matter expert View Program Office Productivity Mastering Google Sheets: Unleash the Power of Excel and Advance Analysis By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of experience and Accounting Educator View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program The dominant view then, and now, was that the real reason that made Sonia Gandhi nominated Singh as Prime Minister—besides his stature, clean image, decency and administrative experience—was his absolute trustworthiness due to his total dependence on her in the Congress party ’s world of intrigue. If not Singh, Sonia Gandhi might have had to pick from the likes of seasoned and skilful politicians such as Pranab Mukherjee or Arjun Singh. Having experienced how another skilled Congress ‘insider’ Narasimha Rao had completely taken control of the government and party as Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi would not have risked another spell of isolation under a far more political PM, more so when son Rahul Gandhi’s grooming for succession had started. While much was later written about how Sonia Gandhi and those around her in the Congress had tried to remote-control Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, there is unanimous agreement among politicians that Singh wouldn’t have survived as the PM but for the unflinching support she extended to him. No one would have understood that better than Singh himself. Many were of the view that, having been a trained bureaucrat, expert in the craft of surviving through pragmatic flexibility, Prime Minister Singh would have been prepared to make concessions, including sharing political authority That is why, many Congress and UPA leaders of that time felt Singh did not resist when a parallel superbody was erected—the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council. Or, when most of his ministerial choices and their portfolios were decided by the Sonia/Congress establishment. That was also the reason then ‘heir apparent’ Rahul Gandhi could get away with tearing up the ordinance protecting legislators from being disqualified without inviting Prime Ministerial ire. That was the price a nominated PM had to pay—merit and excellence notwithstanding. Still, he showed his resilience and determination in the way he handled the India-US civil nuclear deal , braving the scepticism of the Congress leadership, the dogmatic opposition of the Left and even facing a touch-and-go trust vote that saw the same party establishment unleash every weapon in its arsenal to prevent the government from falling. The clinching of the nuclear deal would have been the high point of Singh’s Prime Ministership—even greater than the deft manner in which he and his team helped India remain mostly unscathed through the global financial crisis of 2007-8 and its aftermath—but for the dramatic political and administrative meltdown of the UPA-2 in the wake of serial corruption charges. That marred the record of Singh’s Prime Ministership and the UPA government, despite their many creditable achievements, many of which have stood the test of time and been adopted by his successor The Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement laid the ground for the resurgence of the BJP under Narendra Modi ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, with the NDA and its allies decimating the Congress coalition. That watershed was also testimony to the dramatic mood swing in the Indian middle class, which had once hailed Singh as their hero. Singh’s long and illustrious career was also the dramatic story of a lower-middle class village child scaling the glittering heights on the strength of his merit, grit and determination. A story that will continue to fire many a dream of India’s aspiring youth, beyond the ups and downs of Singh’s political life. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )Hyderabad : Celebrity sister duos have always inspired countless fans with their bonds, and Sania Mirza and Anam Mirza are no exception. From heartfelt posts to playful moments, the Mirza sisters exemplify sibling love and make everyone wish for a bond as strong as theirs. Their social media is a treasure trove of adorable moments, capturing their support for each other through life’s ups and downs. Whether it’s celebrating achievements or navigating challenging times, Sania and Anam have always stood side by side, setting the perfect example of sibling solidarity. In their latest viral video, shared by Anam Mirza on Ins tagram , the sisters took their bond to a fashionable level. The clip shows the duo twinning in stunning sarees, styled identically but in different colors. The text on video reads, “POV: It’s Daawat season.” Anam’s caption read: “I annoy my sister at Daawats and life. Besides that, food and pictures. Tag your Daawat partner Matching outfits from @geethikakanumilli.” A post shared by Anam Mirza (@anammirzaaa) Fans and followers quickly filled the comments section with love and admiration, praising their bond and style. This is not the first time the Mirza sisters have wowed fans with their chemistry. Whether it’s candid moments, family celebrations, or stylish appearances, their connection shines through. Check out more photos of Sania and Anam Mirza, and don’t forget to tag your own Daawat partner! A post shared by Anam Mirza (@anammirzaaa) A post shared by Anam Mirza (@anammirzaaa) A post shared by Anam Mirza (@anammirzaaa)
Liverpool powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favourites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against Leicester, while Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United's dismal 2-0 defeat at lowly Wolves. Erling Haaland missed a penalty as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against Everton, but it was United's travails and Liverpool's remarkable run that took centre-stage on Thursday. Arne Slot's side were shocked by Jordan Ayew's early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalise just before the interval through Cody Gakpo. England midfielder Jones marked his 100th top-flight appearance with the second goal soon after half-time. Mohamed Salah's 19th goal this term wrapped up Liverpool's 11th win in their last 13 games in all competitions. "We created enough, but because we went 1-0 down it was a game," Liverpool manager Slot said. "Then you saw how good we are and Leicester didn't want to come back into the game." Liverpool's comeback lifted them well clear of second-placed Chelsea, who were defeated 2-1 by Fulham earlier in the day. United suffered a third successive loss in all competitions to leave new boss Ruben Amorim with five defeats in his first 10 games. Fernandes was dismissed two minutes into the second half at Molineux for a second bookable offence. United's 10 men cracked in the 58th minute when Matheus Cunha's corner went straight in as goalkeeper Andre Onana flapped under pressure. Hwang Hee-chan compounded Amorim's misery when he tapped in with just seconds left. Losing to fourth-bottom Wolves was another bitter blow for United, who endured a humiliating 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth at Old Trafford last weekend after losing 4-3 in the League Cup at Tottenham. With his team marooned in 14th place -- just eight points above the relegation zone -- Amorim's woes might not be over, with United facing in-form Newcastle on Monday before travelling to Liverpool in their first game of 2025. "It's so tough to win games in this league with 11 men. With 10 men, it's more difficult," Amorim said. Champions Manchester City have just one victory in their last 13 games in all competitions as their Christmas schedule started in disappointing fashion. Bernardo Silva put City in front early on before Iliman Ndiaye salvaged a point for Everton. More from this section Seven minutes into the second half, Haaland had the chance to end his longest goal drought at the Etihad but Jordan Pickford denied him. City are languishing in seventh place and sit five points adrift of the top four, with their astonishing decline showing no sign of ending. "Of course we need results and we didn't get it. The team played really good again in all departments and unfortunately could not win," said City boss Pep Guardiola. At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were stunned by Fulham's late fightback in a dramatic west London derby. It was Chelsea's first home defeat against Fulham since 1979. Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead after 16 minutes, the England forward drilling home from the edge of the area after weaving through the Fulham defence in dazzling style. But Fulham levelled with eight minutes left when Harry Wilson nodded in from close range. There was worse to come for the Blues when Rodrigo Muniz completed the turnaround in the 95th minute. Nottingham Forest climbed to third place after a 1-0 win against sputtering Tottenham at the City Ground. Forest's fourth successive win was sweet revenge for boss Nuno Espirito Santo, whose former club Tottenham had Djed Spence sent off in the closing moments for a second booking. Tottenham are stuck in 11th as the pressure mounts on boss Ange Postecoglou. Newcastle swatted aside 10-man Aston Villa 3-0, moving up to fifth place after winning three consecutive league games for the first time since 2023. Jarrod Bowen's 59th-minute goal gave West Ham a 1-0 win at bottom of the table Southampton after the visitors saw Guido Rodriguez's red card overturned by VAR. It was a frustrating start for new Saints boss Ivan Juric, who has replaced the sacked Russell Martin. Bournemouth and Crystal Palace shared a goalless draw at the Vitality Stadium. smg/nf
CAMP4 Reports Third Quarter 2024 Financial ResultsUnveiling The Creative World Of Angella Summer Nabiburu: A Trailblazing Ugandan BloggerAging Wisely WILLMAR — Aging Wisely: Finding New Confidence and Purpose will meet at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 2, at the Willmar Community Center. The program is part of a series to help support the educational, social and nutritional needs of older adults. This month the group will hear from Judy Leach, deaf & hard of hearing specialist of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, who will offer information about hearing opportunities and discuss support for those who may be losing or hard of hearing. Breast cancer WILLMAR — The breast cancer peer support group will meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6, in the lobby of the CentraCare — Willmar Cancer Center. Speaker will be Craig Boen with a presentation on acupuncture and other holistic therapies. The free group is open to anyone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer at any stage, whether currently receiving treatment or in remission. Facilitators will make sure nobody is forced to share more than they wish. Free. Attendees do not need to be a patient of CentraCare — Willmar Cancer Center. Parkinson’s MONTEVIDEO — A Parkinson’s support group meets at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, at the Montevideo Veterans Home in the multipurpose room or attendees may join virtually. Anyone who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, or family, friends, or community members who would like to learn more about Parkinson’s, is encouraged to attend. For more information or to obtain the virtual link, call Gretchen Reeves at 320-435-1291. Dementia MONTEVIDEO — A dementia care partner support and education group meets at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, at the Montevideo Veterans Home in the community room or attendees may join virtually. Open to care partners of people living with dementia. For more information or to obtain the virtual link, call Gretchen Reeves at 320-435-1291. Bloodmobile The American Red Cross conducts blood drives in the west central area. Appointments can be made at 1-800-RED-CROSS or online at www.redcrossblood.org. To give blood you must be at least 17 years old, weigh 110 pounds or more and be in good health. You can give blood every 56 days. Double red cells can be donated every 112 days. All donors need acceptable identification. The preferred form is a government-issued picture identification, such as a driver’s license, or a Red Cross blood donor card. Otherwise you will need to provide two other forms of identification, such as a work identification, Social Security card, personal check or credit card. Personalized mail such as a utility bill will not be accepted. Blood drives scheduled for the Tribune area are: Dec. 27, Willmar: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., First Presbyterian Church Dec. 31, Sacred Heart: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Community Center Jan. 3, Raymond: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., St John's Lutheran Church Jan. 6, Bird Island: 1 to 7 p.m., Our Savior's Lutheran Church Jan. 7, Appleton: Noon to 6 p.m., Appleton Area Health Jan. 8, Buffalo Lake: 1 to 7 p.m., Community Center Jan. 10, Willmar: Noon to 5 p.m, Civic Center NAMI WILLMAR — NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness) offers a variety of free online mental health classes. They include classes such as Hope for Recovery, Family to Family, In Our Own Voice, Creating Caring Communities, Ending the Silence, Understanding Early Episode Psychosis for Families, a suicide prevention class called QPR — Question, Persuade and Refer, a special QPR class for Agricultural Communities, and more. The classes are designed for family members and caregivers, persons living with a mental illness, service providers, and also the general public. Find a complete listing of these classes and how to join them on the NAMI website at namimn.org and then click on “Classes” under Education and Public Awareness. Senior services The Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging provides advocacy, information, resources and assistance so that older adults can maintain the lifestyle of their choice. To learn more about this and other presentations and trainings, visit mnraaa.org/calendar. Live chat with a specialist also can be accessed online at www.MinnesotaHelp.info . Senior LinkAge Line: Your link to an expert on Medicare, prescription drug expense assistance, forms assistance, community-based resources, finding resources in your community, caregiver planning and support and more. It is a service of the Minnesota Board on Aging in partnership with Minnesota’s local area agencies on aging. It is the state’s federally designated State Health Insurance Assistance Program and Senior Medicare Patrol. Call the Senior LinkAge Line at 800-333-2433 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays or visit www.MinnesotaHelp.info to chat with a specialist during business hours. Be sure to have a complete list of prescription drugs and dosages. 55+ Driver courses: This class offered through the Minnesota Highway Safety & Research Center will save you up to 10 percent on your auto insurance. Completion of an eight-hour course qualifies a driver for the discount. To maintain the discount, a four-hour refresher must be completed every three years. The course covers defensive-driving tips, changes in laws, vehicle technology, and traffic safety. Courses are available in person or online. Find more information at www.mnsafetycenter.org or call 1-888-234-1294. LSS Meals on Wheels: Hot Meals on Wheels are delivered on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. A frozen meal is available for the following day or the weekend. The meals are available for persons who are unable to cook for themselves due to their age, disability, illness or recent release from the hospital. Along with the regular meal, two special diet meals are available. The cost is $8.75 and includes milk. Those 60 and over may contact LSS to see if they qualify for a reduced price. Order by noon the weekday before the delivery day by calling 320-737-0985. The menu is available on the website at lssmn.org/meals. Willmar Senior Dining: The meals are served at noon weekdays and are also available for pickup between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the Community Center. The meals are open to those who are 60 years of age and older. Suggested donation of $5 a meal. Call 320-262-5288 by noon the day before and leave a message. The menu is available on the city of Willmar website at www.willmarmn.gov under Community Center. Lutheran Social Service: Frozen, shipped meals are available for older adults statewide through the LSS Meals to Go service. Each shipment includes 14 frozen meals and the cost is about $9.75 per meal, which includes the shipping cost. The cost is covered for Minnesotans who use one of five waiver programs. Meals are also available to anyone in Minnesota who could benefit from healthy meals shipped directly to their homes. Order meals on the website at lssmn.org/mealstogo or call 800-488-4146. Disability Hub MN: A free statewide resource network that helps solve problems, navigate the system and plan for the future. The team knows the ins and outs of community resources and government programs, and has years of experience helping people fit them together. Call 1-866-333-2466 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or find email and live chat options at www.disabilityhubmn.org. Coffee Talk: This statewide phone chat line for older adults is open from 8 a.m. to noon weekdays. Call toll-free at 877-238-2282. It is staffed by volunteers who understand the older adult population’s needs and challenges and is dedicated to easing loneliness and social isolation among older adults. Volunteers can offer words of encouragement and understanding and provide information about support and resources available in the person’s community. Calls are free. The caller’s privacy is a priority, and the only information requested will be first name. Users of the line may call as often as they would like.
By PETER SMITH A social-media tribute to Coptic Christians. A billboard in Amish country. A visit to a revered Jewish gravesite. While Donald Trump’s lock on the white evangelical vote is legendary, he and his campaign allies also wooed smaller religious groups, far from the mainstream. As it turned out, Trump won by decisive margins, but his campaign aggressively courted niche communities with the understanding that every vote could be critical, particularly in swing states. Voter surveys such as exit polls, which canvass broad swaths of the electorate, aren’t able to gauge the impact of such microtargeting, but some backers say the effort was worth it. Just one week before the election, Trump directed a post on the social-media platform X to Coptic Christians in the United States —- whose church has ancient roots in Egypt. He saluted their “Steadfast Faith in God, Perseverance through Centuries of Persecution and Love for this Great Country.” “This was the first time seeing a major U.S. presidential candidate address the community in this manner,” said Mariam Wahba, a Coptic Christian and research analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based research institute. “It was really a profound moment.” She said many Copts share the conservative social views of other Christian groups in the Republican constituency, and they may already have been Trump supporters. But the posting reinforced those bonds. Coptic bishops sent the president-elect congratulations after his victory and cited their “shared social and family values.” Some Assyrian Christians — another faith group with Middle Eastern roots — similarly bonded with Trump, whose mispronunciation of “Assyrian” at a rally created a viral video moment and drew attention to their support. Sam Darmo, a Phoenix real estate agent and co-founder of Assyrians for Trump, said many community members cited the economy, illegal immigration and other prominent voter issues. They echoed other conservative Christians’ concerns, he said, on issues such as abortion, gender identity and religious expression in public. But he said Trump supported various Middle Eastern Christians recovering from the Islamic State group’s oppressive rule. Darmo also credited Massad Boulos, father-in-law to Trump’s daughter Tiffany, for mobilizing various Middle Eastern Christian groups, including Chaldean Catholics, and other voters, particularly in Michigan, such as Muslims. “He brought all these minority groups together,” he said. “We’re hoping to continue that relationship.” But members of Middle Eastern-rooted Christian groups, and their politics, are far from monolithic, said Marcus Zacharia, founder of Progressive Copts, a program of Informed Immigrants, an organization that promotes dialogue on sensitive topics among such groups in the United States and Canada. He said many younger community members question Trump’s stances on issues such as immigration, and sense that conservatives sometimes tokenize them by focusing on the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East while neglecting wider issues of repression in countries there that the U.S. supports. He said there needs to be more informed dialogue across the political divide in these communities. “There is no more high time than these next four years to have that way of conducting conversations,” he said. Republicans also made an aggressive push for Amish voters , particularly in the swing state of Pennsylvania, where they are most numerous at about 92,000 (many below voting age). The GOP has made similar efforts in the past, even though researchers have found that less than 10% of them typically vote, due to their separatism from society. But Republicans used billboards, mailers, ads and door-to-door campaigner to drive turnout in Lancaster County, home base to the nation’s largest Amish settlement. On Election Day, Amish voters Samuel Stoltzfus and his wife Lillian Stoltzfus said they were supporting Trump, citing their anti-abortion beliefs. “We basically look at it as murder,” Stoltzfus, 31, said outside a polling center in the Lancaster County community of New Holland, where dozens of other members of the local Amish community voted. Trump has wavered on the issue, dismaying some abortion opponents, though many have said Republicans still align more closely to their views. Stolzfus added: “Make America great again and keep the moral values,” he said. “Let’s go back to the roots.” Steven Nolt, a history professor at Elizabethtown College in Lancaster College who studies the Amish and their voting patterns, said that while it’s too early to say definitively without further research, he doesn’t see evidence of a larger turnout this year. Lancaster County as a whole — most of which is not Amish — is a GOP stronghold that Trump won handily, though both parties’ votes edged up from 2020, according to unofficial results posted by the Pennsylvania Department of State. Trump’s biggest increases were in urban or suburban areas with few Amish, while some areas with larger Amish populations generally saw a modest increase in the Trump vote, said Nolt, director of the college’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. “Bottom line, percentage-wise, not much change in the parts of Lancaster County where the Amish live,” he said. Trump directly reached out to members of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism. Related Articles National Politics | Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi’s felony voting ban is cruel and unusual National Politics | Trump convinced Republicans to overlook his misconduct. But can he do the same for his nominees? National Politics | Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of US land: ‘Drill.’ National Politics | Trump’s team is delaying transition agreements. What does it mean for security checks and governing? National Politics | Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing in order to decide where case should go now On Oct. 7, the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, Trump made a symbolically resonant visit to the “Ohel,” the burial site of the movement’s revered late leader, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. Wearing a yarmulke, the traditional Jewish skullcap, Trump, who has Jewish family members, brought a written prayer to the Ohel and laid a small stone at the grave in keeping with tradition. The site in New York City, while particularly central to Chabad adherents, draws an array of Jewish and other visitors, including politicians. About two-thirds of Jewish voters overall supported Trump’s opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters. But the Trump campaign has made a particular outreach to Orthodox Jews, citing issues including his policies toward Israel in his first administration. Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowitz of Chabad Lubavitch of Southwest Florida said it was moving for him to see images of Trump’s visit. “The mere fact that he made a huge effort, obviously it was important to him,” he said. Associated Press journalist Luis Henao contributed. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on X (Opens in new window) Most Popular Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws Meet the Fort Monroe Authority’s new CEO Meet the Fort Monroe Authority’s new CEO Court documents: 3-year-old grabbed dad’s gun off kitchen counter and accidentally shot himself Court documents: 3-year-old grabbed dad’s gun off kitchen counter and accidentally shot himself Army-Navy 2024: Navy specialty uniforms to honor Jolly Rogers aviation squadron Army-Navy 2024: Navy specialty uniforms to honor Jolly Rogers aviation squadron Here’s what development around the Virginia Beach Convention Center could look like Here’s what development around the Virginia Beach Convention Center could look like Newport News’ first Saladworks combines former doctor’s passions for health and business Newport News’ first Saladworks combines former doctor’s passions for health and business 2 injured after vehicle failed to stop at Suffolk railroad crossing, police say 2 injured after vehicle failed to stop at Suffolk railroad crossing, police say Bike shop in Midtown Row rebrands, coffee shops celebrate and more business news from the Historic Triangle Bike shop in Midtown Row rebrands, coffee shops celebrate and more business news from the Historic Triangle Virginia live election results Virginia live election results Entertainment venue Uptown Alley no longer coming to Williamsburg Entertainment venue Uptown Alley no longer coming to Williamsburg Trending Nationally Castle Rock school bus driver who left 40 kids at busy intersection “didn’t know what to do” A ‘horrific accident’: 2 deputies who died, 1 injured in Palm Beach County crash identified Illinois high court overturns Jussie Smollett’s convictions in allegedly staged hate crime San Diego toddler’s backyard snake bite bills totaled more than a quarter-million dollars Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
Top 5 Cybersecurity Careers to Watch in 2025Sparks scores 20 off the bench, Ball State knocks off Evansville 80-43
World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill believes there are several things going for India – from the demographics to geopolitics and from a large domestic market to low debt levels in the private sector. He tells TOI in an interview that India should seek to push its potential growth from 6% to 8% by focusing on greater efficiency and economic freedom and quality education and by staying open to FDI and trade. What are the major concerns in the global economy? Are the problems facing middle-income countries like India unique and how they should deal with them? In summarizing the problems facing the global economy, it is useful to think of the world as consisting of low-income countries, emerging markets, and advanced economies. The difficulties that each group is facing are distinct. Policy makers in advanced economies such as those in the Euro Area have brought inflation down and are now again worried about sluggish growth because of adverse demographics and slowing productivity growth. You can call this the problem of secular stagnation. In middle-income countries the problem is that, aside from a few exceptions like China, growth rates have not been high or steady enough for quick convergence to the living standards of advanced economies. We call it the middle-income trap. Low-income countries--mostly in Africa but also countries like Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria--have not been doing well since the mid-2010s. Their GDP growth rates have barely kept up with population growth, so their citizens have experienced zero or negative income growth. They have suffered a lost decade, and the prospects for the next decade are not much better. The global economy is settling down to a rate of growth rate much lower than what it was before the COVID crisis, which was in turn much lower than it was before the global financial crisis. So, with each crisis, the world economy seems to be coming down to a lower growth rate. In the case of middle-income countries that are home to 75% of the world's population, the drop in GDP growth is especially rapid: from an annual average of 6% in the 2000s to 5% in the 2010s to a projected 4% in the 2020s. So, what’s the way forward? What can middle-income economies do to reverse this dismal trend? We have just completed a serious inquiry into this in the latest World Development Report. We have tried to distill the lessons from successful developers like South Korea and Taiwan in Asia, Poland and Hungary in Europe, and Chile and Uruguay in Latin America. These countries encouraged private investment by keeping inflation down and making things easier for enterprises, they brought in new technologies from abroad and made them widely available domestically (we call this infusion), and they displayed both patience and discipline in timing the shift to innovation-led development. China has also been doing many of the same things and there are signs that countries like India and Vietnam are also working towards a good mix of policies to encourage investment, infusion and innovation. What is working against today's middle-income economies is that they are facing both a more difficult external environment--growing protectionism in advanced economies and rising concerns about climate change--and domestic difficulties like record levels of debt and rapidly aging populations. What bright spots do you see in India? India is a lot more fortunate than the typical middle-income economy. For the next two decades, it will have an extraordinarily favourable demography. Investors in advanced economies looking to diversify away from China find it attractive. It is a large and rapidly growing market, so foreign firms will become ever more interested in establishing operations in India. Its private sector is not heavily indebted--by one measure its private debt ratios are less than one quarter those of China's. Its economy is more balanced than China's: in that the ratio of consumption to GDP is normal, so it depends less on foreign consumption and its economic growth will not be as threatening as was China's growth during the last two decades. Even the geopolitics are quite favourable for India. I would say that during the next two decades, India will be at prime potential; put another way, the Indian economy will never again be able to grow as much as it can over the next two decades. It cannot miss this golden opportunity. In a recent piece you estimated that it may take India 75 years to reach one fourth of the US per capita income. How can it shrink this timeframe? The 75-year estimate is not written in stone; that time period can be shrunk by decades. As I said, India will be at peak potential between now and 2047; the question is how to realize that potential. We estimate India's potential growth rate at about 6%, it should be pushed up to 8%. India needs to become more efficient in the use of capital, skilled labour, and energy. Increasing efficiency requires some serious structural reforms: becoming more open to foreign investment, trade and technologies; using the talents of women and disadvantaged sections of society better; and using energy more efficiently by better pricing and regulation, and reforming state-owned enterprises that generate, transmit and distribute power. It has to as much in education as it has done so successfully in digital infrastructure and roads. India also needs to invest more, and that investment has to come from the private sector. Luckily, India's private enterprises are in good shape for this. It's not as if you have to do it over the next two years; India has a window of two decades. But things will never be as good again when this period is over, so it must be done with a sense of urgency. I think the Prime Minister has done exactly the right thing by setting the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047. Women participation in the workforce is something that has been talked about a lot in recent years. What is the solution? The solution probably consists of three parts. The first is to determine the facts. There is a lot of disagreement about what the female labour force participation rate is in India. There is no such controversy in, say, China or the United States. This needs to be sorted out. After meeting with experts in MOSPI, I am hopeful that it soon will be. Second, after we agree on the facts, I expect the solutions to improve women's work participation will be different in different parts of the country, say in the Hindi-speaking belt as compared with the South. In some places or sections of society the fix might be cultural, in others it might be education-related, and in yet others it might have to do with public safety. The third part will have to do with ensuring equal opportunity through well-designed and implemented legislation. I think that the world grossly underestimates the economic benefits of better use of the talents of women and disadvantaged groups. The case of the US is eye-opening. In the 1960s and 1970s, when anti-discrimination legislation was first introduced, 94% of America's lawyers and doctors were white men. Today, today that ratio is less than half that. Without these changes, the estimates are that US GDP would have been about a third lower than it is today. Viksit Bharat will be achieved decades sooner with such measures than it will be without them. What about investments? India has to invest in more in capital of all kinds: human, physical, financial and infrastructural capital. On infrastructure capital, India has been doing well. On physical and financial capital, things could be better: India's private investment to GDP ratio has been essentially stagnant for the last decade and has room to grow. But India's investment in human capital--especially in secondary schooling, polytechnics, and higher education--needs to increase massively over the next decade. The main problem is not a shortage of money; the problem is more likely a serious shortage of political will to radically reorganize public education to prepare young people for a world of work that will be completely different from the time when these institutions were conceived. But I don't sense any urgency when I speak with state governments. I get a sense of urgency when I talk to government officials in Delhi, though I also detect frustration that they can't do much without state government support. In September, a World Bank report talked about high tariffs in India and restrictive policies in services. In recent weeks, Donald Trump made a statement about India’s high tariffs. How crucial is it for India to revisit some of its policies? What we recommend for smaller economies--there are more than 150 of them outside the G20--is to make trade and foreign direct investment easier, regardless of what richer or bigger economies are doing. India can do a lot more to improve the general conditions for foreign trade and investment. But when I listen to the debates among Indian economists, the talk is too much about whether to make a big bet on services or on manufacturing. For a large economy with both great potential and great inefficiency, the right way is to bet on everything: more on services, more on manufacturing, and more on agribusiness. A good place to start is to increase economic freedom, much as how Vietnam has done during the last five years. I know that the government is not an avid consumer of international rankings, but they do contain useful information. The Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, for example, has India ranked next to Nigeria and Brazil. Vietnam's index is closer to Mexico's and South Korea's. We recently interviewed Thomas Piketty and he talked about the need to impose 2% wealth tax on the ultra-rich 167 families to reduce inequality. Chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran , however, cautioned about the possibility of flight of capital and suggested it may not be the best solution. What is your view? I agree completely with the CEA. Taxing wealth is about taxing people who have choices about where to keep their wealth. Besides, when you consider wealth and inheritance taxes, you have to account for the structure of the economy and the experience of countries that have experimented with high wealth and inheritance taxes. In India, the preponderance of family-owned enterprises means that a sizeable part of an individual's wealth is the value of the family firm. When the head of the family dies, the survivors will have to liquidate the firm or borrow to pay a high inheritance tax. Neither helps the firm become bigger. But India's problem is to grow enterprises which tend to stay too small, not to shrink them even more. And there can be other complications where large publicly traded firms are involved. South Korea has a very high inheritance tax. If the head of a conglomerate dies and his or shares shares have to be sold to pay taxes, this sale can sharply reduce the share price (and the market value of the company). Perhaps Professor Piketty's ideas are well-suited for Western Europe where equity concerns might be more pressing than the desire for greater economic growth. India's problem today is not one of high levels of inequality, it is one of great inefficiency. Professor Piketty’s proposal might make things better in France; in India, it will make things worse. Ready to Master Stock Valuation? ET’s Workshop is just around the corner!