governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
India’s elites – the top 0.1 per cent of families, who only shop overseas and have grown fatter the fastest – have a visceral fear of foreign buyouts. The average Indian couldn’t care less – they only look for lower prices and better quality. There are no sari clad Westestern CEOs India’s politicians, particularly in […]
Read More Stopping foreigners from owning Indian retail e-commerceJust east of India Gate –where, under the arch, an everlasting flame flickers in remembrance of martyrs – is an empty canopy built along with the rest of colonial New Delhi in the 1930s. This once housed a statue of George V – King of England when the shifting of the capital from Calcutta to […]
Read More The empty canopy at India gateHappy migrants, unhappy locals New Delhi’s denizens, fed up with grey mornings and sooty afternoon, moved in conspicuous droves to balmier climes for the New Year while tracking what interests them the most — property prices and politics. Imagine heatedly debating the relative merits of Gurgaon versus Noida while lazing on the sunny beaches of […]
Read More 2018 – Outsize events in the rear viewKashmir – The Valley, as distinct from Jammu or Leh – has learnt to live with low-intensity conflict. But a new deal in the New Year would be welcome. Conflict literature presents development as an option. The logic is appealing – development lifting all boats, thereby making disruptive conflict too expensive to pursue. This is […]
Read More New Year gift for KashmirSanta Claus is known globally for his — yes, his is still a male preserve — penchant for grunting his massive bulk through chimneys, including, miraculously, the narrow outlets of smokeless challahs, into homes to bestow gifts on sleeping children. Santa the original behavioural economist He is the original behavioural economist, grading gifts by the […]
Read More Santa on good governanceBabus are hugely upset, understandably so, at the less than laudatory media coverage of Shaktikanta Das, an IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre who had retired as secretary, economic affairs, in the finance ministry and was appointed the 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India last week. The first two governors of the […]
Read More Das – the new Raja of Mint StreetIn the most recent state assembly elections, the BJP lost. But given the centralised governance architecture of the BJP, so did Narendra Modi. The jury is out on the extent to which election losers heed advice directed gratuitously at them by opinion writers. But Mr Modi is credited to be a voracious internet fiend so […]
Read More From assembly to the 2019 general electionA single event gives rise to asymmetric consequences- intended or otherwise. If you fall down the stairs and hurt yourself – it’s an unintended disaster for you and your family. But to the doctor and her staff patching you up, it’s an entirely expected consequence. For a colleague, who steps in for you at work, […]
Read More Elections and the law of consequencesHistory is written by the victors because they are the ones who survive and have “the force” with them. Last week the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of the Union government set the Yamuna on fire — not very difficult really, since it has more chemicals than water — by releasing the back series of the […]
Read More Politics, lies or just GDP statisticsIn a recent freebie on social media, McKinsey – an outrageously expensive US consultancy which spurns a fee below Rs 50 million for even the smallest task – shares lessons learnt by them for producing leaders. First, good health is critical – a no-brainer. Second, company programs to produce leaders mostly fail – this is […]
Read More McKinsey can learn from Modi