governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
The Reserve Bank’s decision to transfer Rs 1.76 trillion to the government as surplus follows the “golden mean” principle, often used by committees. This bonanza comes courtesy an “Expert Committee to Review the Extant Economic Capital” of the RBI, constituted in November 2018, which has now recommended a higher level of transfer as against the […]
Read More RBI plays White Knight to revenue strapped governmentFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman might well be already thinking of penning a book on how demand vanished the moment she assumed charge. She faces an uphill task and has to carry the ball of lax governance earlier. We have sat on collapsing real estate demand for the last decade without doing anything more substantive than to […]
Read More Who moved my demand curve?The spontaneous or manoeuvred fracturing of polity along traditional identities is misaligned with development—our core concern today—which, by definition, is inclusive. But just as surely, papering over political sores festering over the last seven decades, like in Kashmir, has not helped. Unlocking the constitutional logjam The constitutional coup by the Union Government on August 5th to […]
Read More Kashmir gets a reality checkEven the political surgical strike “integrating” Kashmir failed to divert attention from the woes of investors, employees and entrepreneurs — all of whom are stuck with a similar malady: poor returns. Where has the fizz gone? Why has the fizz gone out of the economy? Two alternative viewpoints suggest themselves. One is the view fingering […]
Read More Indian economy riding a roller coasterThere is something universally uplifting about independence — be it for a teenager, a city, a village, a province or an entire country. Coming into your own is empowering. But only if opportunities exist to break free of the inevitably skewed nature of endowments and constraining regulations. The warm feeling around cooperative federalism has faded […]
Read More An opportunity called Independence- use it or lose itIt is foolish to keep doing the same thing to solve a persistent problem. The Narendra Modi-led Union government has internalised this adage and strives to be big-bang innovative, as illustrated by demonetisation to control corruption, although with less than spectacular success. Article 370 – A Gordian knot or fig leaf Yet another instance is […]
Read More Kashmir: Light beyond the Banihal PassWho can imagine the demons in a person’s mind which push him to end his life? Nor can one be privy to the dull pain of the inevitable, unnecessary guilt, in the minds of family and friends — whether doing something different could have prevented it. The pull of family pride Remember the 2018 Rajkumar […]
Read More Coffee King bucklesPradip Baijal is a pugnacious reformer with a ferocious appetite for taking on challenging assignments. This reviewer remembers vividly Baijal, as Secretary Disinvestment in 2002, walking in the sweltering summer heat from the North Block to the hoi polloi car park around the fountains below Raisina Hill, where the taxi, which served as his official […]
Read More Book Review: Containing China
Opinion India 