governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
The big question is does Budget 2025 help India step onto the path to Viksit Bharat by 2047? If high, inclusive growth is the surest way to reach that goal, the Finance Minister’s proposals for 2025-26 generally point in the right direction. But that is not saying much. Has reform by stealth reached the end […]
Read More Budget 2025: Slow turn towards Viksit BharatHow is “Tipping Point” – a phrase heard most often in the context of climate change relevant for the 2025 budget in India? It becomes relevant in the context of India’s long-term goal of becoming a developed economy (Viksit Bharat) by 2047. If India fails to achieve the required growth during the intervening twenty-two years, […]
Read More India’s “Tipping Point” Budget 2025The recent, hastily terminated attempt by the Government of India to induct 45 specialists as senior and mid-level civil servants on contract and the earlier agriculture reform legislation, withdrawn in 2022, both point to three generic, weak spots in the government’s reform strategy. Three errors First, scoring a quick win for the reforms report card […]
Read More Government appointments: “quick results” scupper deep reformsOver the last decade we have become accustomed to public spectacles mounted by the BJP with verve and grandeur. One such is the show on Independence Day. Masterful rhetoric, a mix of humility and extreme confidence and an array of “facts” rolled out by Prime Minister Modi, mesmerize the audience into a fantasy of India […]
Read More Is Modi Mania Waning?High growth generates the comfort of public unwillingness to look a gift horse in the mouth. When growth is more than double the global levels and the highest achieved by any comparator entity, there are even fewer quibbles. This is true for both startups and national economies. Both are subject to “analyst fog” about an […]
Read More Interim Budget 2024-25: Government a prisoner of over-reach2020 was the year of fear as COVID-19 decimated the economy and killed people–both rich and poor– seemingly. 2021 was the year of hope. The bite of the pandemic dulled, thanks to the massive vaccination program, ramped-up emergency medical facilities and the roll-out of special social protection measures like free cereals for 800 million citizens. […]
Read More India vignettes from 2022 and beyondBudgets reflect the economic philosophy, near-term political economy pressures, and the long-term vision of a government. A review of budget metrics (table below) across the twilight years of the Manmohan Singh UPA government and the Modi government reveals a surprisingly elevated level of similarity, despite differentiated specific outcomes. In plainer words, the rulers changed but […]
Read More The Modi budgets- High achievements sans institutionalised changesThe drama and spectacle around Budgets in India are completely undeserved. More than four-fifths of the Union Budget demands relate to expenditure that is carried through from past decisions, leaving little leeway for bold new outlays. And even when such programmes are budgeted, it is unclear who is going to pay for the added expense. […]
Read More Budget Fy 2023 – Saying sorry is okThe dominant view is dire on the impact of the proposed roll back of the three Farm Laws, enacted in haste in 2020, even as the pandemic raged. Opinion is divided whether it is proof of the government’s shallow commitment to deep reform or that it proclaims doom for agriculture, which has committed Hara-kiri by […]
Read More The upside of farm laws repealThe tragic snafu over making sufficient oxygen available to meet the spike in demand from COVID-related morbidity is a red flag for an underlying malaise—of overlapping mandates, state governments enfeebled by decades of Union government spoon feeding, and under capacitated local government. Sadly, state governments have voluntarily accepted this hollowing out of their core functions. […]
Read More Repurposing governance- trim the fat in state governments
Opinion India 