governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
In the run up to the annual budget it is said the Prime Minister is engaged in reviewing the working of departments in eleven hour long meetings. The PMs brand managers possibly think this nugget will comfort the nation that all is well, now that the man at the helm has his hand on the […]
Read More Modi takes charge of the budgetSo now that the wine has run dry; the Christmas cake is mere crumbs and the New Year eve shenanigans are forgotten let’s get back to basics. What is 2020 going to be about? In one word- tough except for large industry and private banks which shall clock handsome bottom lines, their bonus boosted employees […]
Read More Keep the demand fires burning in 2020Since the government no longer leaks information to the press on what is about to happen, it is tough to figure out whether the unanimous decision to hold the repo rate (the bank rate) at 5.15 per cent by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on December 6 has the Union government’s blessings. Maybe this is […]
Read More RBI Gov Shakti Das does a U turnIn early 2014 Narendra Modi as a prime ministerial aspirant made three pledges to the people of India, which swept him to power and kept him at the helm. First, the pledge to employ jobless young adults in decent jobs. Second, to shrink the government while increasing governance. Third, to put Rs 1.5 million into […]
Read More Only private “animal spirits” can rescue IndiaDelhi has yet to overcome its Raj inheritance. The capital exudes the complacence of satiated imperialism, decades after the rest of the country has been democratized. The most egregious twin dogmas Two particularly deep-seated Raj dogmas plague Delhi. First, that India has an entitlement to lead the world and second, that our long-term foe is […]
Read More India’s Raj inheritanceOne doesn’t quite know what it takes to win a Sveriges Riksbank Prize — instituted in 2006 in Memory of Alfred Nobel — in the Economic Sciences category. The three winners this year, of which two are also co-authors of a book – “Good Economics for Hard Times” 2019 are the ones best placed to […]
Read More Saving the world from below – Nobel Prize winners Banerjee- DufloExports in the first half of this fiscal year were $267 billion, 1.9 per cent higher than last year. This was dismal if exports are to be the engine driving GDP growth. Imports, at $312 billion, reflected poor domestic demand and contracted by 3.2 per cent. The only good news was that the trade deficit […]
Read More A hybrid export model might flyAmid the doom and gloom of the world economy, there are encouraging signs that the Indian government is now taking tangible steps to reverse the worst aspects of the slowdown in India. Ministers take the lead This is a huge step away from the collective “Nelson’s eye” which was being turned to the crisis earlier. […]
Read More Early shoots of reforms revivalIt’s going to be a sombre Deepawali this year. If there were any doubts, the RBI Monetary Policy report of October 4 dispels them succinctly. Missing demand Global apprehensions abound around the policy and political uncertainty unleashed by the proxy war for access to markets between the US and China. Back home, slowing private demand […]
Read More Its’ smart to stoke private demandTough reform decisions are best taken in times of grave crisis not when the going is good. Economic reform, at the best of times, is highly disruptive. It makes little political sense, in the real world, to throw away the benefits of a stable, growing economy, in the hope that the future would be brighter […]
Read More BJP needs a consistent Economic Ideology
Opinion India 