<nettime> Sleepless in Seattle (view from a Goan) (fwd)

[Eustaquio Santimano <ejs@image.dk>]

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE

The good news from Goa is that it has got itself another new government,
its eleventh in ten years; the even better news is that feni, the heady
liquor that the state is as well-known for as its ebullient politics,
might soon become the first fully Indian alcoholic beverage to be marketed
globally. A major distillery is reportedly planning to promote a
deodorised version of feni to compete with such internationally
established products like Japanese sake, Mexican tequila and French
cognac. The news is particularly heartening as it coincides with India Inc
gearing itself to negotiate advantageously at the forthcoming WTO meet in
Seattle. Though feni is unlikely to make waves or even create ripples in
the sober deliberations, it is a token indication that Indian enterprise
is beginning to show the right spirit of initiative in the face of global
competition. Various sectors of indigenous industry have, in fact,
indicated an exemplary resolve to meet the challenge of the emerging WTO
regime and turn it to the country's benefit; the earlier pleas for a
`level playing-field' are gradually being replaced by a robust
determination to pick up the gauntlet of competition. But even as
corporate India prepares symbolically to put new wine in new bottles, our
political establishment seems still to be loth to depart from old
formulations in equally musty packaging. In contrast with the new upbeat
approach of entrepreneurs, the political response to Seattle seems
inhibited by extraneous distractions which could hamper manoeuvrability at
the negotiating table. 

Full Story: http://www.timesofindia.com/261199/26edit1.htm

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