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  • Celebrating Earth Day – an Atlantic Divide

    Dinesh Dhamija

     

    How important is the environment in the US versus the UK?

    This Earth Day – which fell on Monday 22 April – President Biden announced a $7 billion solar energy plan to benefit 900,000 American households, generate 200,000 jobs and achieve $8 billion energy savings.

    Rishi Sunak promised to ban wet wipes containing plastic. In the States, it’s a whole week of events: Tuesday is clean water, Wednesday is clean transport, Thursday clean energy and Friday clean air. In the UK, Scotland ditched a major climate commitment, and the British government was busy trying to deport immigrants to Rwanda.

    With elections looming on both sides of the Atlantic, the environment is a hot topic for both electorates. What’s alarming in the UK is how the Conservative Party, which you might hope would endorse strong environmental action, to conserve the natural world, has capitulated to the oil and motoring lobbies.

    In desperation, Prime Minister Sunak spotted that if he championed drivers frustrated by environmental regulations, it could win him a few votes. Never mind the growing cost to the nation’s health from road pollution.

    For President Biden, taking decisive environmental action sets him far apart from the environmental vandalism of his predecessor and forthcoming opponent Donald Trump, who withdrew America from the Paris Agreement and routinely calls climate change a ‘hoax’.

    Americans love personal freedom, so the environmental debate is a tricky one for them. Do they forever side with big oil, so that they continue to drive polluting cars and run businesses unfettered by regulations, or do they see freedom from dirty air and water, and potential salvation from the many threats of climate change as more important?

    Recent droughts, wildfires, floods, and heatwaves across the States appear to have registered with many voters. A survey by the Pew Research Centre found that 54 per cent of Americans view climate change as a ‘major threat to the country’s well-being’ and 67 per cent think the country should prioritise renewable energy.

    There’s a deep divide between Democrats (90 per cent are in favour of renewables) and Republicans (just 42 per cent). So that makes Biden’s position easier to understand.

    In the UK, there’s a similar pattern: 84 per cent of Labour voters think man-made climate change is real, versus 65 per cent of Conservative voters. You might hope that Rishi Sunak would harness that 65 per cent, rather than pander to the climate denying 35 per cent.

    The road to net zero and to averting climate disaster will not be smooth. It will take bravery and leadership from leaders of all stripes.

    So, let’s celebrate Earth Day with renewed vigour this year and hope the message gets heard.

    Dinesh Dhamija founded, built and sold online travel agency ebookers.com, before serving as a Member of the European Parliament. Since then, he has created the largest solar PV and hydrogen businesses in Romania. Dinesh’s latest book is The Indian Century – buy it from Amazon at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1738441407/

     

  • From mobile app designers to SEO professionals, what are the most lucrative freelancing jobs?

    Finito World

    New research has found how much freelancers can charge in the US, with those making mobile apps charging approximately $1,553.50.

    The study, conducted by invoicing software company Bookipi, used freelancing platform Upwork to find how much freelancers in 40 different countries charge on average per job. They looked at several popular services, including logo design, video editing, and data entry. The starting and end prices were collected for each service in each country, and an average price overall was calculated.

    Mobile app freelancers rank as the most expensive freelancers in America, with the average price of a job costing $1,552.50. Following in second is web programmers, where the average price of hiring a freelancer was found to be $574.65.

    Creative writers rank third most expensive, with an average freelancer rate of $177.27 per job. Ranking as the fourth most expensive freelancer job is SEO, with an average rate of $162.31. Rounding up the top five is CV-writing, with a cost of $140.65 per job.

    As well as looking at how much people in the United States could make in different freelancing jobs, the study also looked further afield to see which countries had the most expensive freelancers.

    Australia ranks as the country with the most expensive freelancers, with the average job price costing $594.56. Australia was also found to be the most expensive country to hire a freelancer for creative writing, web programming, or mobile app development projects.

    Following in second is India, where the average price of hiring a freelancer was found to be $501, while Morocco ranks third with an average freelancer rate of $402.03 per job.

    In contrast, the United States ranked 17th, costing an average of $243.72 per freelancing job – 59% less than Australian freelancers. The United States were in the top 5 most expensive countries for freelancers working in logo design, SEO, resume writing, and web programming.

    Speaking on the findings, Tim Lee, CEO and founder of Bookipi, said: “Our team members come from various corners of the world – Asia, Africa, Europe, and America and their life stories and experiences contribute to our team’s richness. Working closely together has taught me an immense amount about appreciating different cultures. As a result, we were interested in how these different experiences are reflected through the costs of freelance workers worldwide.

    “Typically, countries with robust economies and high living standards tend to host the most expensive freelancers, which the data reflects by finding Australia as the most expensive freelance country. Although this is true for India, the second country to appear in the ranking, freelancers can command a higher rate thanks to their specialized skills and expertise in industries such as software development, IT services, and digital marketing.

    “We hope this ranking will help empower freelance workers around the world to know their worth and be more confident in fairly pricing their services.”

  • Y Knots author Omar Sabbagh gives his advice to young writers

    Omar Sabbagh

    My first ever publication as an aspiring writer was in 2004.  I’d attended a brief course in creative writing in late 2002, at the American University of Beirut (AUB).  This was after I’d left my undergraduate berth at Oxford months earlier.  And it just so happened that a piece I wrote, ‘Benches,’ a surreal, dream-like short story written in the second person and influenced by my having recently read at the time Kazuo Ishiguro’s breathtaking but disorienting book, The Unconsoled, was scooped up by my course instructor, Professor Roseanne Khalaf for an anthology she was putting together with another editor, Transit Beirut (Saqi Books, 2004).  Since that time, I have published much work in different genres, from short fiction, to poetry, to full-length novellas, to different kinds of critical writing, devolving from scholarly papers to literary reviews and journalism.  But in October of 2023, my short fiction collection, Y Knots (Liquorice Fish Books) was published.  It collates in one volume most of my best short form imaginative prose published between 2004 and 2022.

    There are a few dovetailing reasons for the title of the collection, and they synergize in a nicely serendipitous way.  Firstly, many of the stories register and explore (if they don’t always resolve) issues of identity; and being a male, and the male chromosome being ‘Y’, the title in this sense is apposite.  Secondly, and perhaps more banal, any writer of fiction knows that stories are driven by tensions, which trigger and spur the river of narrative.  Hence the invoked concept of ‘knots.’  However, another sense, more philosophical, derives from an insight that became increasingly compelling for me as I moved from my twenties into my thirties and now, forties.

    When we are young, and I mean by this later adolescence into young adulthood, our tendency is to try to understand or comprehend all the phenomena and anomalies that surround us or interest us.  Bookish youths like myself hunger to answer each and every why-question; to as it were, necessitate our experience.  The older one gets, however, and the more of one’s expanding life-experience is seen to be or to have been unpredictable, the more complicated and entangled life gets, the more we realise how little ‘control’ (mental, as otherwise) we really do have over the course of our lives, the more the question (if now rhetorical) to ask becomes, not ‘why?’ but rather, hey-ho, ‘why not?’  This is why I think I was a lot more skeptical about things like religion in my youth.  The older I got, the more I might look at historical phenomena like the miracle of Mohamad’s message or indeed the idea that God became man and walked the earth, and so on, and say to myself (given enough experience in our topsy-turvy world), well, why not?  Why not believe that such phenomena might have truly happened?  Not, therefore, trying to reduce them or explain them away.  One becomes more accepting as one ages, I think, because there’s little other option, if one wishes to stay sane and/or bear the possibility of some kind of happiness or at least, contentment.

    And so, here’s my two pence of advice.  As a young writer with literary aspirations, you need to get in the habit of accepting rejection like a friend, because like a friend, it will, nearly always, visit you often near the start of your serious efforts.  Treat rebuffs as opportunities to hone and chisel the muscle of your writing.  And though as a writerly type you’re bound to be more of a perfectionist than others, who may be blessed or cursed with less artistic temperaments, try to always show patience with yourself.  Thinking that writing needs to be prepared to perfection in mind before you put pen to paper is a flawed way of looking at the practice of writing, because of the simple reason that you do need to be fully in the medium to fully know where you are going.  Because, in short, though thoughts may precede words, words deployed always then engender thoughts.  It’s the opposite of a vicious cycle: it’s a gladdening and exciting cycle that most writers feel emboldened by as they write.  A quest of sorts, it’s where the magic happens; and if you bear too much puritanism with yourself or with others, in the senses outlined above, your quest may be more likely to end in a cul-de-sac.

     

    As well as learning to accept yourself as a writer and the role that others will inevitably play in your writerly life, you need to be above all else patient.  I myself flout that bit of advice on a daily basis, but it still remains valid.  You might be in your early twenties, and feel that as a writer you need to get ahead, but the truth is that if you were ever going to get somewhere in the literary world, you will indeed get there, by hook or by crook.  I look back to my small delight in having my first piece of writing tout court published in 2004, and I know that at that time I never envisaged some of my successes, pound for pound of course.  Be patient.  There is a term I learnt from Ford Madox Ford, discussing technique, ‘progression d’effet’ (I think, like many such terms applied to prose, it originates as applied to the drama).  It indicates why in a narrative the unraveling of the plot or events or themes, or what have you, speeds-up proportionally the further you are in it.  Simply because, I suppose, the more ‘causes’ as it were laid down in prose, the more and the quicker the ‘effects’ come.  It’s actually quite commonsensical.  However, it also applies to one’s writerly career, often enough.  I have had work published in the last six or seven years that far outweighs in both quality and quantity the previous fifteen or so.  So, keep plugging away: one day you’ll look over your own writerly shoulder and marvel at what you may have achieved.

     

     

  • Introducing the Shadow Pledge

    Finito World

    The employment market can be a bewildering place for hirers and job-seekers alike, As a rule, the people who leave school, college and university who know exactly what they want to do are lucky – and rare. Not everyone can be a doctor, an architect or a lawyer where the path is set, and the profession regulated to make life easier for the entrant.

    The rest of us are encouraged to apply for internships and work experience – and we do so in droves adding to the general confusion. This is highly competitive and, although the Old Boys’ network is not as powerful as it once was, the chances of success still all too often revolve around who you know. Of course the difficulty works the other way as well. Employers routinely point to recruitment as one of the most difficult areas of business. Organising work experience placements requires time that many small employers simply do not have.

    Given that today’s workers are likely to need two or three careers with reskilling and lifelong learning becoming the norm, the fight to get experience or even find out what is out there will become even more important. With AI increasingly involved in the job application process, candidates are often left rejected, dejected and without really knowing whether the job would have been right for them in the first place. Employers may be screening out the best person for the job who has an amazing attitude to work because they do not tick all the algorithmic boxes.

    But what if we did this another way? At Finito, we always encourage candidates to select a minimum of three separate career paths. This focus is best tested by shadowing someone in the sector to check rigorously their suitability and commitment. This is why Finito has decided to join forces with the MP for Stroud Siobhan Baillie and campaign for the Shadow Pledge.

    The brainchild of Finito CEO Ronel Lehmann, the Shadow Pledge is a simple idea: anybody over 18 years old can shadow someone who is employed, and most workers can spend that time with a Shadow without it negatively impacting their week. While there are strict HMRC rules about payment for internships and work experience, under this scheme there will be no requirement for funding, remuneration or travel expenses because the candidate is simply shadowing.

    The benefits of this are innumerable. There is no need for parental chaperoning, extensive risk assessments or insurance issues (save that certain roles such as manufacturing, engineering or jobs involving children may still require additional steps). It would be up to the employer to set the rules and requirements like providing a CV in advance. The simpler for all involved, the better.

    As a result of the Shadow Pledge, people of all ages will be able to gain a new sense of understanding about the workplace and opportunities at the right time in their lives to foster ambition.  Meanwhile, employers will acquire not only the pleasures of short term mentoring but also advance knowledge of potential candidates and spot key employability skills that a computer may miss.  The Shadow Pledge will enable us to shape and win the future of work.

    This is why we’re asking all businesses pledge to offer up to half a day of shadowing every year for all levels of their team: normal time in the life of CEOs, secretaries, HR assistants, plumbers, teachers, drivers, journalists, MPs, dentists, supermarket managers – including the boring bits. For the rest of us, the request is that we normalise shadowing.  We can start encouraging everybody to ask for shadow placements whether or not there are jobs going at the time and regardless of background and lack of connections.

    This would amount to a major shift in our work culture, and it’s one which is badly needed. It will provide an important flexibility for job-seekers and employers alike. Happily the idea has already met with some high-profile endorsements. The legendary Rob Halfon MP endorsed the idea, even while he was Minister for Skills and Apprenticeships. Meanwhile, the Rt Hon The Lord Mayor, Professor Michael Raymond Mainelli (Alderman) has offered Mansion House to get the square mile engaged. The Department for Work and Pensions has also shown considerable interest in the idea.

    We live in a world of too much regulation where people feel stymied by lack of opportunity. The Shadow Pledge is an idea intended to connect us and it is on the basis of this connectivity that the will should be built. This is the way to start to do that and we commend the idea to our readers.

     

  • India Seeks Energy Independence by 2047

    Dinesh Dhamija

    To coincide with the centenary of its independence from Britain in 2047, India’s leadership has announced a new ambition: energy independence.

    The ruling BJP – widely expected to win the current general election – pledged that independence will be achieved “through a mix of electric mobility, network of charging stations, renewable energy production and improving energy efficiency,” while reducing petroleum imports.

    This ambitious target builds on the drive towards renewable energy generation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi established from the earliest days of his administration, starting in 2013 (and even before, when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat).

    As I outline in my book The Indian Century, Modi’s embrace of solar energy has been transformative for India, harnessing a source of power that the country has in greater abundance than almost anywhere else on earth. Here’s a brief excerpt:

    “Added together, the total solar energy which pours down upon India from its annual 300 cloudless sunny days is 5,000 trillion (5 quadrillion) kWh, or around 7 kWh per square meter per day. Capturing just a tiny fraction of this solar energy could meet all of India’s energy needs. In fact, a year’s worth of Indian sun would produce more energy than the country’s entire fossil fuel reserves.”

    To bring this potential energy boon to fruition will take years of infrastructure development, investing in a nationwide smart grid, support for the transition to EV manufacturing and a national charger network, further subsidies for rooftop solar systems (such as the scheme launched in February this year) and encouragement for the large-scale wind farms, solar parks and ‘Green Energy Corridor project’ that are already in development. The BJP has also promised to invest in green hydrogen production, which as a green hydrogen businessman is music to my ears.

    Politically, energy independence is a smart move. A resurgent India will have more credibility on the global stage if it is not in hock to Russia for discounted fuel when many other nations are boycotting the country.

    Environmentally, it makes complete sense to decarbonize wherever possible, allowing the government to demonstrate to its own people that climate change and clean air is a priority. Extreme heat and pollution are already threatening to make parts of India uninhabitable.

    The benefits of renewable power will become ever more obvious, as economies of scale, technologies advance and infrastructure connections improve. The BJP has promised that 10 million Indian households will receive up to 300 units of free electricity per month, under a new solar scheme, to improve the standard of living for the country’s poorest. If India can deliver independence from poverty for its people by 2047, that would be an even greater achievement.

     

    Dinesh Dhamija founded, built and sold online travel agency ebookers.com, before serving as a Member of the European Parliament. Since then, he has created the largest solar PV and hydrogen businesses in Romania. Dinesh’s latest book is The Indian Century – buy it from Amazon at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1738441407/

     

     

  • Looking to retire? Avoid the UK, says new research

    Finito World

    A new study has determined which countries have the highest retirement age increase based on OECD covering 2000-2020.

    The UK places 22nd on the list with a 4.45% increase during this period, whilst the USA ranks 28th with a 4.01% increase during the same period
    Several other western nations feature in the top 30, including Australia, the United States and Canada.

    The research, conducted by AgeCalculator.com, reveals that The UK has seen the twenty-second highest increase in its retirement age over the last 25 years.

    The study analyzed OECD data regarding retirement age in all countries available from 2000 to 2020, to discover which citizens have seen the highest increase.

    Bulgaria takes the top spot with a 13.26% increase in the country’s average retirement age between 2000 and 2020. This results from the average retirement age among men and women in 2000 being 56 years old; in 2020, it went up to 63.

    Second is Estonia, with an increase of 11.93%, while its neighbor, Latvia, ranks third with a 10.57% increase. Respectively, these countries had a retirement age of 58 and 59 in 2000 and 65 in 2020.

    Further down on the list is New Zealand, the only non-European country in the top 10. The nation comes in fourth place with a 9.84% retirement age increase as well as highest retirement age on the list. Records show that the retirement age increased from 61 to a whopping 67 years old in 2020.

    Hungary closes the top five with an 8.56% increase.

    Two more eastern European countries follow closely: Romania is sixth with an 8.42% increase, and Slovenia is seventh with an increase of 8.35%. Portugal, The Netherlands, and Lithuania round up the top 10.

    A spokesperson for AgeCalculator.com commented on the findings: “The trend of retirement age increasing across many nations reflects a complex interplay of various factors. Some of these include the extension of people’s life expectancy, which has increased thanks to medical advancements, economic pressures that translate into people not being able to retire comfortably because of the rising cost of living, and shifting demographics, such as declining birthrates and aging populations.

    “It is interesting to see how the data shows European countries among those with a steadily increasing retirement age, with a particular focus on eastern European countries, as shown in the top 10. The first Western European country is Portugal, followed by The Netherlands in eighth place, and we have to look even further down, in 15th place, to find another Western country, Italy.”

     

    For more information go toagecalculator.com

  • Meet the Mentor: presentation coach Merrill Powell

    Finito World meets Merrill Powell, who does important work, using her television background to prepare candidates for interview. 

     

    You’ve had a long and varied career in television. Can you talk a bit about your career, and how you use that experience to help mentees today?

     

    All the skills I learned in television can be passed onto Finito candidates and, believe it or not, they are absolutely relevant for whatever job a candidate is applying for. The prime one is to be able to make points succinctly so that you say what you want to say, clearly – and, above all, concisely. A couple of minutes of TV time is a long time for the viewer, but not for the speaker! The skill is to hold the attention of the listener and to make the points you need to make in a short time.

    Another important point to understand is that you will never have enough time to say all you want to say, so you must learn to prioritise the important points. It’s a discipline that is particularly useful with so much in the business world happening on Zoom. I should also say that at Finito we work as part of a team, therefore if a candidate needs extra help in a particular area, another mentor will let me know so that I can focus on the weakest areas. That gives comprehensive training and practice. All of which allows the candidates to grow in confidence and self-belief. The most watchable people on television are those who are so experienced that they look relaxed, it isn’t an easy job but they make it look easy. It’s the same with an interview. The better prepared, the greater the chance of not letting nerves overtake you.

     

    Presentation seems to be partly down to how we dress, and partly to do with our speech and manner. What factors are you especially looking at when a candidate first comes to you for mentorship and advice?

    Zooms can be unforgiving, and people can become very slack about how they present themselves often being at home.   I notice if someone is slouching, chin cupped in hand, too relaxed, or sloppy. All negatives. When I am mentoring I prepare for the Zoom as I hope a candidate will. I look smart, notes ready, background prep done,  proper chair and I sit up. In other words I am ready for business.  One candidate seemed barely awake so I asked if she was alright. “Oh yes, sorry,” came the reply, ‘but I had a glass of wine before we started.”Not a Finito candidate I should say, but it shows how not to treat a Zoom. You can give yourself an edge by making sure you look groomed, are alert and ready to take the meeting/interview very seriously.

    I am very straightforward – and strict – when I’m mentoring. If a candidate has annoying habits such as constantly playing with their hair, chewing a pencil or letting their eyes wander everywhere I say so, because those irritants are highlighted on Zoom. I must say so as it’s part of the preparation, which is to showcase the best of yourself and it often needs a third party to spot improvements which need to be made.

    You have one chance to get it right, so be prepared. I’m there to help you get it right, to showcase your talents, make sure you are on top of the job description and are able to articulate why you are the right person for the position.

    What are the most common mistakes which prospective candidates make when it comes to presenting themselves at interview?

    The most common mistake anyone makes during any kind of interview or presentation is to speak too quickly. Speaking slowly and clearly is essential and very few manage it without training. The brain often works faster than the mouth so the result is a waterfall of words rushing out as speech struggles to keep pace with thought.

    Clarity of communication is essential, particularly in a remote interview.  Most personal touches are absent – handshake, eye contact, body language, natural energy. These are important nuances that create a sense of the person you are speaking to in a physical meeting. Therefore, other ways need to be found to create an authentic and complete portrait of the candidate – that is through words and the skilful use of articulating experiences, ambitions, and understanding.


    Obviously preparation is very important, but how can candidates protect themselves from being overprepared and too robotic during an important interview?

    Preparation is essential. I never worry that someone will be over-prepared. That’s because preparation is necessary to best showcase personal talents, experience and ability in a concise, cogent way. The one way to ensure that the candidate is never robotic is to ban written notes. Reading out prepared answers is a disaster. Bullet point reminders can be useful but each answer should be straight from the head and heart, not learned, which means they are slightly different each time therefore authentic. It’s all about building confidence.

     

    You’ve been extremely active with Women2Win helping female candidates through the arduous process of winning seats. Can you talk a bit about how the presentational skills required for major roles are changing during the social media age?

    It has been a huge privilege training political candidates standing for public roles such as Police Crime Commissioners, Councillors, MPs. They all begin from the same position: asking people to vote for them. To win that vote, they must have appeal to the electorate. As we would say, it’s about winning hearts and minds. That means asking for trust, having integrity and empathy as well as intelligence and the ability to work extremely hard. If you are asking people to trust you with their future and the future of their families, look as if you deserve and can carry that trust. You must know your area so that the constituents don’t have to, because you are there to serve them.

    The greatest modern change and challenge has of course been social media and I think many of my colleagues would agree that nowadays any public servant can be subject to terrible online trolling. A robust character is therefore probably more essential now than ever before. There are many skills required to take on a public role but again it remains imperative that candidates  present their arguments cogently and persuasively.

    Social media equally offers wonderful, cheap and easy opportunities to connect with all levels of the community. It has transformed communication. Whether it’s about a local area forming a group to complain about potholes or rubbish collection, or Coronation celebrations, everyone can have a voice. The candidate has to be completely conversant with all means of communication. It’s a huge job. I expect to see many Finito students stepping up later in life!

     

    Zoom interviews are an increasing trend. What are the pitfalls with Zoom, and conversely what are the opportunities?

     

    During lockdown Zooms took off. I was able to train remotely scores of candidates without any of us leaving home. That also meant that a huge amount of research and mentoring happened without any travel costs incurred. That is a huge consideration for so many where high travel costs can often limit ambitions. It enabled many to be trained online who previously could not have afforded travelling to training centres.

    We all discovered how to communicate easily with the outside world and the benefits were enormous. Our parameters changed for good. But there are also pitfalls to Zoom: there will always be those personal meetings that can only happen in an office where ideas spark because of proximity. We must never underestimate the exponential value of personal interaction. It’s healthy for humans to mix too. The challenge with Zoom is to try to make an impersonal tool personal, to learn to use it to show what kind of human being you are. That’s much harder on Zoom than in person.

    My aim is to build confidence in a candidate so that they feel sure-footed enough in their answers to let their own personality, their own unique selling-point, shine through.

     

     

     

  • India Heads Global Growth League

    Dinesh Dhamija

    Cementing its place at the peak of global economic performance, India appeared in Franklin Templeton’s latest survey as the least likely of all major countries to suffer recession in 2024, with a zero per cent chance.

    By contrast, Germany seems almost certain to plunge into recession, with a 73 per cent likelihood, followed by Italy on 63 per cent and the UK on 53 per cent. Canada (50 per cent) and the United States (45 per cent) are on a knife edge, while Australia (40 per cent), France (35 per cent) and South Africa (30 per cent) are all in areas of concern.

    The emerging economies of China (15 per cent), Brazil (10 per cent) and Indonesia (2 per cent) fare best in this analysis, other than India, with Japan and South Korea (both 15 per cent) forming an Asian bloc of positive prospects. Nothing in life is ever guaranteed, however, so despite such high confidence, some Indian
    commentators are more cautious. “Recession risks may reappear in 2024 due to…rising food and energy prices amidst lingering geopolitical tensions,” wrote Dr Kembai Srinivasa Rao in the Times of India. He nevertheless predicts growth of 7 per cent for 2024 and 6.5 per cent in 2025, far above that of most other economies.
    What worries many economists in India, as in the rest of the world, is supply chain disruption from the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts, as we have seen in the Gulf of Aden, with attacks on commercial shipping. An escalation of the situation in Taiwan is also on economists’ radar, adding to the drumbeat of negativity against China on security and trade.

    As the Times newspaper pointed out in a recent editorial, India’s elections later this month promise to deliver a new mandate for Narendra Modi, giving him the freedom to act more decisively in foreign and economic affairs. The Times predicted that he would use this freedom to cement ties with the United States and Europe, while reducing dependency upon Russian energy and countering Chinese influence in Asia. This may be wishful thinking, but it allies with the thesis in my latest book ‘The Indian Century’ that India has a large and growing role to play in global affairs, just as China’s economic star is fading, Russia has become an international pariah and Europe is suffering a demographic timebomb of an ageing population and stagnant growth.

    By 2028, India is expected to have more than 600,000 High Net Worth Individuals, giving it the fourth largest private wealth market in the world. The value of the country’s stock market, meanwhile, overtook Hong Kong’s in January 2024 to become the world’s fourth-largest, worth more than $4 trillion. By the end of the decade, that figure is predicted to reach $10 trillion. There are always doubts about economic forecasts, but in the case of India, right now, there are remarkably few.

    Dinesh Dhamija founded, built and sold online travel agency ebookers.com, before serving as a Member of the European Parliament. Since then, he has created the largest solar PV and hydrogen businesses in Romania. Dinesh’s latest book is The Indian Century – buy it from
    Amazon at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1738441407/

  • Friday poem: Omar Sabbagh’s ‘Searching the Horizon’

    Searching The Horizon

     

    I opened my eyes and my eyes opened

    the light that helped them first to arise;

    and it was as though a window had forged another window,

    working and sculpting the light to show

    the drama of sight – how a new horizon

    glanced at me, gently, knighting me with angles,

    the emanations in a cool and slaking breeze,

    and the unmastered day ahead, like a slave still

    to each refraction of hope, each ghost

    on its way to becoming the fuller filled-out flesh

    it wants to be. Lit now, gripped by delight,

    I walk among the staple daily shadows

    and feel each one sundered below my stepping feet,

    the horizon busied now with its batch of unhurt children.

     

    Omar Sabbagh

     

  • Music review: Tallulah Rendall’s Love Carries Me Home

    Christopher Jackson

    Tallulah Rendall’s new album Love Carries Me Home is a beautiful work in many different ways: it arrives as a charmingly produced book with a CD on the inside sleeve, though it is also possible to listen to much of the work on Spotify and iTunes. The book itself consists of a helpful introductory essay by Rendall herself outlining the origins of the album which came out of a particularly difficult period during which a relationship ended, her father John sadly died, and she was also experiencing professional difficulties arising out of the impact of Covid-19 on her industry.

    The voice that emerges in this essay is of a gentle soul, capable of challenging herself to forge growth out of adversity. Rendall recalls:

    Part of my journey of Lockdown was a relationship that completely broke my confidence…yet through determined commitment, I found my way to defy the doctrine that I had begun deeply to believe; to break through the belief that I am not good enough, I am not worthy of love or care…At the time of writing what I didn’t realise was how embedded in our culture the ‘I Am Not Good Enough’ culture actually is.

    It is this last observation which, I think, sets Rendall’s creativity apart: the songs become a sort of raft which we might all climb aboard and this is possible because she has made the generous observation that her own afflictions might be used as a way of assuaging those of others. Rendall understands that art begins with an acknowledgement of our vulnerability – and that this condition is also an opportunity. This album finds her time and again equal to the task of turning the pain of life into something which gathers up that pain into new musical forms.

    The book itself prints the lyrics alongside excellent photography of Tallulah making the book a lovely object to own. In the lyrics themselves there is often the umistakeable note of an earned wisdom as in the song ‘I Am Not Good Enough’:

    We can barricade our hearts with all the armour that we grow

    Hide away from the pain, but our hearts will never know

    The beauty of life, that is wanting us to know and say to ourselves

    That I am loved and I, I am enough just as I am

    The world appears to be at a hinge point in relation to the eternal questions of religion and materialism. In these songs, the structures of Western society are revealed to be an insufficient basis on which to build a valid and meaningful life. Rendall’s vocals remind me a bit of Joni Mitchell, swooping and diving through subtle and patient melodies: she is reassuring us that it is worth the effort to reexamine ourselves.

    Of course, it’s not strictly true to say that we are enough just as we are and can sit back smug in that knowledge: Rendall in fact doesn’t think this at all. In another track ‘Be A Little Kinder’ she urges us to take the stuff of ourselves forwards into better versions of ourselves. The simplicity of the message works since it is obviously true, and always has been. Its urgency and its importance is that it is being communicated to a world in far too much of a hurry, and which too often seems to forget what once was known to almost everyone.

    In a world where everything comes to us in a packaged and predictable way, listeners will feel this album as a genuinely authentic contribution. It is very much deserved that this new multiform release has been endorsed by the likes of Shirley Bassey and Jools Holland, and there are signs that she will reach a considerable audience. Let’s hope so – the world needs voices like this.

    For more information go to tallulahrendal.com