Word: indianism
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...produce is lost or spoils before it reaches the market. On average, goods pass through six or seven middlemen before a consumer can buy it, resulting in tortuous journeys, big markups and poor quality. Replacing that system requires not just building a modern, efficient network but adapting it to Indian conditions...
...that banned farmers from dealing directly with retailers and forced them to sell through licensed middlemen, called mandis. The law, which also aimed to give farmers a fair and consistent price, "was initially done with a good purpose," says Arpita Mukherjee, a senior fellow at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, a New Delhi-based think tank. But over the years it grew into a monster, gaining layer upon layer of intermediaries, none of whom added any value to the fruits and vegetables they traded even as they added on their own margins. The result: a grossly...
...first retail store only last November, began exploring the possibility of a nationwide chain of grocery stores-it wants to open 2,000 by next April-it quickly realized that it would need to build its own distribution network almost from scratch. "If we are putting up a pan-Indian business in terms of the front end, then we needed to put up a pan-Indian business in terms of the procurement," says Sanjeev Asthana, president of Reliance's agri-and-food supply chain. Because profit margins are thin in the grocery business, shipping delays and spoiled merchandise...
...warn them of its dangers. This is tricky, particularly in Asia, where children are welcomed and cherished with a delight that is as genuine as it is-from a Western perspective at least-threatening. Malay shopkeepers call children baby-jaan, or "life," and press free candy into their palms. Indian bus drivers clamber out to lift young kids into their vehicles. Wizened Chinese waiters break out into smiles and escort crying toddlers toward the live-seafood tank so that the parents can eat in peace. Stern Japanese bank clerks stop all work to gather and coo over a baby...
...Pedophilia is also rampant in Asia. In April, the Indian government released the results of a survey conducted in 13 states, which indicated that one in two children had been sexually abused, often by people familiar to them. Interpol warns against molesters masquerading as aid workers to get close to poor, orphaned children in the aftermath of natural catastrophes such as the 2004 tsunami. Even under normal circumstances, cultural norms and social structures complicate matters. Most Asian societies are both sexually repressed and respectful of elders-a double whammy when it comes to dealing with sex offenders. From a young...