governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
(photo credit: dnaindia.com) Clothes truly make a man. FM Jaitley’s budget, presented to Parliament today, turned out to be constructed the manner in which he was dressed- a Modi jacket over a shirt, trousers and chappals (flip flops) for shoes. Nothing objectionable of course and yet unexceptional. Tarun Das, the veteran Industry budget watcher, known […]
Read More Union Budget 2015: Well-meaning but lacking spirit(photo credit: Indianexpress.com) As expected Suresh Prabhu, the likable, very professional and intensely committed Railway Minister presented a Rail Budget yesterday, which is not only fiscally responsible; internally consistent; aligned with the medium terms needs of the economy but which also pushes all the right buttons. For the middle class the buttons pushed are availability […]
Read More If only Suresh Prabhu was CEO of Indian Rail!(photo credit: article.wn.com) The case of Dr R. K. Pachauri, Director General, TERI and IPCC Chair, is curious, precisely because the dog never barked. Odd, because the alleged, continuous, sometimes physical, invasion of privacy with sexual overtones, apparently happened near continuously since 2013 in the heart of the India Habitat Center, one of the public […]
Read More The Pachauri saga: why did the dog not bark?(photo credit: india.com) The annual ritual of the government’s budget with allocations of money in billions is just gobbledygook for the average citizen. It is the “tone” of the budget which people tune into first and foremost. What must Finance Minister Jaitley do to get the tone right? First, clothes make a man, as they […]
Read More Packaging Budget 2015(photo credit: indiatoday.com) Speaking today in Ramlila Grounds, the “maidan” of the people’s movement which birthed the Aam Admi Party, just over a year ago, Kejriwal, in his acceptance speech as Chief Minister of Delhi state government, confided that it was God who had ordained the Tsunami like landslide win of the AAP (96% of […]
Read More Kejriwal – God’s own messenger(photo credit: dailymail.uk.co) February is when the Indian Finance Minister (FM) gets flooded with unsolicited help from well-wishers on how to get his job done of presenting the Union government’s annual budget on the 28th. This time, the flood is a Tsunami as a consequence of the Delhi state assembly electoral debacle for the BJP […]
Read More The budget of small things(photo credit: archives.financialexpress.com) Delhi Assembly election 2015 is beginning to resemble a Greek tragedy for the Bharatiya Janata Party. What a change from the national elections in May 2014 when the BJP shone in comparison to the inept Congress Party. The motley crew of small regional or local parties (like the Aam Aadmi Party) also […]
Read More BJP, take five!
Opinion India 