governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
Economists belabour the point that emerging out of the pandemic–induced economic downturn is qualitatively different from emerging out of a long–drawn economic recession. Simply put, it is easier to get back to where you were. Turning on a light switch and flooding a dark room with light instantly is apt for describing what happens once […]
Read More Unraveling fiscal stressA bill approved by both houses of Parliament last week March 2021, will sharply reduce the Delhi’s Government’s ability to act independently of the Lieutenant Governor (LG), an appointee of the President of India (ergo the Union government). Every executive decision has now to be referred to the LG. Similarly, whilst the Delhi Assembly can legislate, […]
Read More Is Delhi democratically enfeebled?In Hong Kong, British style democracy is being nudged out by Sinicized democratic norms, where the Communist Party of China, and not citizens, determine the limits of democratic conventions. But it is not just China which feels compelled to sculpt the principles of classic, citizen-centric democracy to the objective conditions on the ground. Post-colonial Africa […]
Read More Improbable democracies or impossible benchmarksOver the last three decades, it has become customary to disregard the fears of the “little woman” at the bottom of the income pyramid, as mere misinformed or worse—unenlightened, unreasonable insecurity. Unrequited love for markets After all, markets, if regulated appropriately, have delivered wonderfully and poorer economies have benefited more than developed ones. South Asian […]
Read More Decentralize to empower the bottom of the income pyramidFinance Ministers have an uncanny way of figuring out what makes the fish bite and neutralizes the sceptics. Nicely rounded words in the budget speech – like phonetic “quick wins” – come in handy to send the roosters crowing a new Dawn. A three pronged paradigm shift in the budget? FM Sitharaman’s salad dressing for […]
Read More Budgetary provisions matter more than the speechDespite the hoopla around the Union government’s Budget, for citizens, allocations in their state budgets matter more. Nearly two-thirds of total government expenditure is done by states and for capex, this could be even higher (FY 2020-21 BE data). Union FM primus inter pares Twenty-eight states and eight Union Territories share the enlarged pie at […]
Read More A bottom up look at the annual budgetSenior BJP leader Uma Bharati’s first reaction to the terrible news of the Chamoli glacier break/avalanche disaster on Sunday — “I told you so” – resonates with the reservations of all those who put a higher value on conservation than on the development of natural resources for economic growth. On Sunday, a part of the […]
Read More Playing with God’s worldThere is a fun-side to budgets beyond the dreary boredom of the data and pedantic truisms bandied about. The lightest side of the budget this year, were capital receipts from disinvestment (code for under-the-radar privatization) which at 85% below budget outclassed, for the “back bencher award”, revenue receipts, which only shrank – like cooked methi (Fenugreek)- to […]
Read More Budgetary #funstuff- “never befores” for 2022On the eve of the 2021-22 budget presentation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has clearly earned her spurs just two years into the job. A coordinated collection tax effort revives revenue receipts in Q3 Despite the economy being somewhere between 15 to 8% below last year’s level all through Q3 (October to December) this year, cumulative […]
Read More FM Sitharaman earns her spurs raising expectations sky highDespite receipts being 18% lower than even last year till November, largely because of the yawning gap against the aggressive budget estimate for disinvestment receipts (Rs 2,1 trillion), the Union government did well to spend almost 5% more than last year by enhancing borrowing. This is in the best traditions of trying to keep the […]
Read More Budget for hope, build resilient foundations