THE ‘SCIENCE OF MANIFESTATION’
The HRD Study Circle organised an online meeting on 13th October, 2020 on the ‘Science of Manifestation’ presented by Mr. Sanjay Mansukhani.
Interestingly, the speaker started the session in a matter of fact manner by saying that ‘all that we need to do is go in’. What he meant thereby was that when we go ‘inside ourselves’, we meet both our Mind and our Soul. By training our Mind and our Soul we can develop and access their power to the fullest. And if this is done smartly, then it can create magic in our lives and in the lives of others around us, namely, our family, community, nation and humanity at large.
The session was based on two world-class treatises that expound the powers of the Mind and the Soul.
1. ‘Master Key System’ by Charles F. Haanel, 1912
Mr. Mansukhani stated that this American tome is the ‘Father’ of all transformational and creative manifestation teachings. It produces unbelievable results through the right understanding and application of Thought, of the Conscious mind, the Sub-conscious mind, the Universal Mind, Universal Laws and Mental exercises. It is meant for advanced learners of the science of manifestation. It is for those who have already read ‘The Secret Book’ and know the ‘Law of Attraction’.
2. ‘Yoga Sutras’ by Rishi Patanjali, 400 BC
This is the ancient Indian science of Dhyana yoga. The four padas of Samadhi, Sadhana, Siddhis and Kaivalya reveal the deep science of manifestation. By practising it all worldly manifestations to God realisation can be achieved. It is strictly for serious advanced learners of the science of manifestation. It helps if the ‘Master Key System’ has already been learnt and practised.
A discussion on the above leads one to obtain a complete picture of the science of manifestation. ‘Master Key System’ is the western science of manifestation where the current laws of science are applicable, whereas Patanjali yoga sutras are the ancient Indian science of manifestation where the results go beyond the realms of modern-day science such as Siddhi (mystic powers) and Kaivalya (liberation).
The outcome of BIG manifestations will come with the right training and disciplined practice. The session ended with some intriguing thoughts. India and our friends and family are waiting for us to deliver BIG THINGS. The question is, CAN WE?
PANEL DISCUSSION ON ‘BUDGET 2021’
An illustrious panel of experts participated in a lively virtual discussion on ‘Budget 2021 – A 360° view of the Indian Economy’, on 24th February, 2021. They were Bhagirath Merchant, Ex-President, BSE; Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Hiranandani Group, and Dr. Ajit Ranade, Chief Economist of the Aditya Birla Group. Vikas Khemani moderated the discussion.
Welcoming the guests and participants, President Suhas Paranjpe explained that it was important to have a 360° view of the Budget as it was likely to have significant implications in the years to come. Vice-President Abhay Mehta introduced the panellists and the moderator.
Launching the discussion, Vikas Khemani said that the current year’s Budget did manage to meet the expectation of a ‘Once in 100 years Budget’ as was promised by the Finance Minister. It was indeed a shift of mind-set from extreme prudence to growth orientation, from incremental approach to leap-frogging, all this while keeping in mind the new economic realities. The Budget had demonstrated that policy-makers were working in a coordinated way to reach the goal of a ‘Five Trillion Dollar’ economy that the Prime Minister had envisioned.
Agreeing with these views, Niranjan Hiranandani said that there was indeed a paradigm shift evidenced in ‘Budget 2021’. Not deterred by the challenges posed by the pandemic, it had tried to convert them into an opportunity to bring about major reforms. The proposal to increase the capital expenditure for infrastructure by Rs 5 lakh crores without burdening the taxpayers with additional taxes was visionary. Although it could lead to deficit financing, it clearly reflected the positive mind-set of the policy-makers to give an impetus to infrastructure without impacting the consumption power of the people. Besides, openly supporting privatisation of the public sector was indeed a trendsetter. The concept of an infrastructure bank was a welcome move and he wished that there could be a couple of them rather than just one so as to increase the capability of taking on more projects with distributed risk. With expectations having been roused in the business community, he said that it would not be too much to ask for a clear asset monetisation policy and rationalisation of the highest tax rates which were currently at 42%. Concluding his remarks, he said that it was a great Budget that would put India on the trajectory of a growth rate of 11 to 12% in real terms.
Expressing his views, Dr. Ajit Ranade said that Budget 2021 laid the roadmap for several generations by providing funds for infrastructure. He was glad to note such evolved thinking on the part of the Government, that deficit financing is not a taboo if money is planned to be spent on building the future for generations to come. Lauding the Budget, he said that among the positives were that it was bold, with no further taxes, it showed a clear intent of privatisation of the public sector and proposed a push on many initiatives that would make GDP growth possible at 15% in nominal terms and at 11 to 12% in real terms. In Dr. Ranade’s opinion, the only caveat was to meet deficit financing without moving interest rates, with a proactive role for the RBI and providing a level playing field for the private sector to succeed.
For his part, Bhagirath Merchant complimented the Finance Minister for thinking out of the box and laying down the policy intent clearly. He appreciated the increased allocation for infrastructure, health and education and said that this was the first Budget that clearly quantified the disinvestment target. Making railways ‘future ready’ would help the manufacturing and agriculture sectors. Agricultural income would double thanks to this Budget. Growth in manufacturing will create opportunities by giving rise to ancillary industries, the SME sector and also the services sector. The move for privatisation of the public sector would unlock funds for Government to direct them in the right channels and would prove very useful in the long run.
Giving an example of how infrastructure investment could be self-fulfilling, Bhagirath Merchant said that with the build-up of the road network, the daily toll collection itself was more than Rs. 100 crores, thus helping in the direct recoupment of capital spent (to the tune of Rs. 36,500 crores per annum). Add to that the other benefits of faster traffic movement, increased trade volumes and tax collections, the benefits could be humongous. He gave a ‘thumbs up’ to the Budget on all these counts.
Pointing out that Government departments will now be permitted to bank with private banks, moderator Vikas Khemani said that the role of the private sector and external capital will assume greater importance. He invited the panellists to give their points of view. All panellists agreed with him and stressed the inevitability of investments from the private sector and access to funds from external sources. The general consensus was that ease of business will have to be accelerated even further as there were still quite a few issues on last-mile connectivity at the ground level. However, there was no denying that Government was quite proactive in responding to the challenges.
The next question raised by the moderator was whether the current account would continue to be in deficit or would be in surplus with rising exports that may occur with the push on manufacturing and the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. Most panellists felt that the current account numbers would continue to remain in deficit with rising import of crude and increasing consumption of aspirational India. However, that deficit would have ample leeway to be compensated by a rise in capital funding from external sources, making the overall balance of payment position positive.
On a question about the opportunities for wealth creation and green shoots for various types of industries, Bhagirath Merchant felt that there were ample opportunities. His opinion was backed by other panellists, too. The point in support of this argument was that the current pandemic had opened the vistas for cost reduction. And this was evidenced in the second quarter results of several companies. The Balance Sheets of Government banks and NBFCs had been nearly cleaned up to a ‘hygienic level’, free from their past issues, resulting in an improvement in their asset quality. The BFSI sector was on the verge of a major breakthrough with serious commitment of Government on business. The market would see huge capital mobilisation that companies already had on the anvil.
Niranjan Hiranandani echoed the above sentiments and said that the realty sector was also on the verge of a big turnaround with ease of finance, push to building houses under the PMAY and a proper regulatory framework of RERA in place. He said that NPAs in the realty sector could be transferred to the ‘Bad Bank’ which was under consideration of the Government. The private sector was prepared for something similar to SWAMIH fund that could infuse new life into many stalled projects. All these could provide a big boost to the realty industry. He cautioned, however, that instead of looking at the industry in general it would be prudent for the investors to look at each company separately for its credentials. On the whole, he was very positive about the market opportunities in the realty sector.
Dr. Ajit Ranade also opined that with growth in manufacturing and availability of funds, sectors such as warehousing, data warehousing, logistics, etc., looked positive.
The panel discussion was followed by a Q&A session. On a question whether there were any missed opportunities in the Budget, the opinion was that the wish list is always long but the Budget needs to be looked at as a balancing act for one year, and to that extent it did do justice to the exercise. To another question on the probable risks of losing the momentum, the answer was that there were always some risks in a democratic society that arise out of political fallouts, the excessive caution-driven approach by bureaucrats and last-minute hitches due to external factors. However, despite all these, the
Budget was indeed path-breaking in its approach and thinking.
Treasurer Chirag Doshi proposed the vote of thanks.
The panel discussion is available on YouTube and the BCAS website for viewing.
