governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
On the stratified fiscal system of India, processes and how the FM can sail through uncertainty next year.
Read More Chintan Speaks | Episode 5 | Union Budget 2026| Viksit Bharat| CRF IndiaWhat distinguishes truth from lies? Statistics, of course. Nothing illustrates the criticality of timely, accurate, consistent data for sound economic decision-making than US Federal Reserve chairperson Jerome Powell’s lament about contemporary monetary policy being like “driving slowly through a foggy night”. He was referring to the consequences of reducing the US Federal Reserve rate below […]
Read More Statistics: Credibility concernsI am an Asthmatic. The guys in the photo are not. They are healthy, young and resilient. I am 73 and frail. I came back from Goa to Delhi by air on November 5. Two days later I was eating corticosteroids instead of squid, Pan D instead of vindaloo, antibiotics instead of fish thalis, ingesting […]
Read More Let Delhi breathe & earn a livingI am an Asthmatic. The guys in the photo are not. They are healthy, young and resilient. I am 73 and frail. I came back from Goa to Delhi by air on November 5. Two days later I was eating corticosteroids instead of squid, Pan D instead of vindaloo, antibiotics instead of fish thalis, ingesting […]
Read More Let Delhi breathe & earn a livingIndian gentrified types living in London or visiting to shop, eat and enjoy a stroll along orderly pavements without dodging cars or scooters – but on high alert nevertheless for mobile and handbag snatchers and other such con artists- were horrified that an Indian man chose to wash his feet in the River Thames recently. […]
Read More the West and desisThis Opinion piece was first published in the Quint February 14, 2025 https://www.thequint.com/opinion/modi-trump-meeting-washington-reciprocal-tariffs-implications-for-india The recent Narendra Modi-Donald Trump meeting in Washington was overshadowed by the US President, who, just hours before, upended global trading arrangements in favour of the US, by establishing the principle of reciprocity as the foundation of trade relationships. Based on the […]
Read More Modi-Trump Washington meet: In the shadow of reciprocal tariffsThe 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 BharatFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman crafted the budget around four key targets of accelerating growth, promoting inclusive development, enhancing private investment, uplifting household sentiments including by income tax reform to enhance income in the pockets of middle-class consumers- those earning up to Rs 1.2 million a year, who account for over 80 percent of the total […]
Read More Budget 2025: Scorecard of Hits & MissesHow 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 2025India has a budgeting problem, like any other middle-class household. Aspirations are larger than means, possibly, driven by the doubtful glory of being the fourth largest economy and politically primed, by future expectations of becoming a “developed” country by 2047. Coddled by obliging import tariffs, clunky private corporates are risk averse and the financial sector […]
Read More Sane Budgeting for a Crazy World
Opinion India 