(Update) Warren Buffett Pledges More India Investments

"Warren Buffett and his friends Bill and Melinda Gates are hosting dinner in Delhi Thursday night, in the marble embrace of the Oberoi Hotel," writes the Toronto Globe & Mail. "The guest list, like all else about the evening, is hush-hush, although an insider did let slip that dinner would be, fittingly enough, buffet. The subject of conversation, however, we know: money."

That's right, folks. Buffett's not only in India to convince policymakers to lift the cap on FDI in the insurance sector, he's here along with buddy Bill to try to convince India's miserly billionaires to sign the so-called Giving Pledge — promising to give half their wealth away to worthy causes.

Good luck.

Though the number of Indian billionaires is growing faster than any other country, they're just catching on to the idea of charity — and several seem to have made bigger ticket donations abroad (to universities, for example) than they have at home.  One reason may be that they don't trust Indian organizations to use the money effectively, of course. But considering that most major business houses here have their own charitable organizations and so-called "corporate social responsibility" arms, the rich and powerful could go a long way to bring the same efficiency to non-profit that they've brought to profitable endeavors.

Forget that, though. How about quitting dubious, anti-social practices, like skirting India's labor laws by pushing contracts out to the unorganized sector (small, unregulated businesses), which typically violate safety regs and underpay workers? That could be a bigger benefit than charity.

And it could restore their reputations as Thomas Carlyle-esque captains of industry, putting an end to the growing perception that they're the world's new robber barons. Perhaps even "tame" them…

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"I'll make one big investment a year in India," Warren Buffett said Tuesday, according to the Times of India. Wearing a jasmine garland and sporting a bright vermilion tikka on his forehead and a bright smile, the world's third richest man apparently missed the memo on politically correct speech, as he said straight off that he felt a "little bit of a retard to have come to India so late," the paper said.

Buffett said that he would like to see 26% limit in insurance FDI hiked to make it an attractive investment proposition. He said he was all for free trade as it leads to increased global prosperity when quizzed about US' outsourcing concerns. 

According to the Hindu newspaper, the Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO said the ceiling on FDI in India's insurance sector was a deterrent to big investment plays.

Pointing out that his company operates as an agency for Bajaj Allianz, he said, “Obviously, for the time being, the limit would make us operate at the agency level rather than at an underwriter level.” Berkshire Hathaway recently made a foray into the Indian non-life insurance sector as a corporate agent for Bajaj Allianz General.