governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
Indian labour regulations do not prescribe the maximum hours per week for those in administrative or managerial positions. For all other workers in industry, the Factories Act prescribes a maximum of 48 hours per week before overtime becomes payable. But there are other reasons why executives work more hours. Our guru shishya Parampara (tradition) requires […]
Read More Are Corporate Honchos Wrong to glorify long Working hoursWill India get rich before it turns 100? A reality check Author: Prosenjit Datta Publisher: Aleph Pages: 138 Price: Rs 499 Economic treatises, says Prosenjit Datta, a distinguished Indian editor and business journalist, can be frustratingly obtuse and reader unfriendly. This attractively written book is anything but. It packs a punch despite being deceptively slim, […]
Read More Book Review: Can India be Rich at 100?Dr Manmohan Singh breathed his last on December 26, 2024. Finance Minister of India 1991-1996 and Prime Minister of India from 2004-2014 he was cremated on December 28. Four attributes distinguish Dr Manmohan Singh (India’s thirteenth Prime Minister (2004 to 2014) from his predecessors and his sole successor- Narendra Modi. A bureaucrat and a politician […]
Read More Doctor Sahib: An uncommon PMThe Nehru Development Model: History and its lasting impact Author: Arvind Panagariya Publisher: Penguin Viking, 2024 Pages:345 Price: Rs 856 This magisterial review of modern India’s economic history by a celebrated international trade economist, earlier chair of the NITI Aayog and currently the chair of India’s 16th Finance Commission was written during the pensive days […]
Read More BOOK REVIEW: Nehru’s long economic shadowThe 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45 specialists as senior and mid-level civil servants on contract and the earlier agriculture reform legislation, withdrawn in 2022, both point to three generic, weak spots in the government’s reform strategy.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 reformsOne of the commendable commitments of the Narendra Modi administration has been to fiscal rectitude, despite its penchant to curate expansive benefits for identifiable groups of the voting public. FM Sitharaman has carried through this commitment in her outlays for fiscal 2024-25. Aligning with fiscal rectitude principles Fiscal deficit (FD) the prime metric of fiscal […]
Read More India Budget 2024-25: Fiscally diligent sans new ideas to boost capital productivity, lower food inflation or create good jobsA common civil code (CCC) dealing with matters of personal law is a good idea in a multi-cultural country like India given the rising number of cross community marriages– although still miniscule in proportion to total marriages. India does not have such a code. A small, Indian hill state becomes the first to legislate a […]
Read More An uncommon civil code in remote UttarakhandNew beginnings are better in theory than in practice, at least for the average, risk averse individual. First, there is the uncertainty associated with change and the potential risk of disaster. Far better to extend a humdrum today rather than reach for the stars and suffer a potential implosion on the way. Second, only time […]
Read More Year-End MusingsThe Kyoto Protocol of 1995 enshrined the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” as the cornerstone for climate action. Ending the degradation of the global commons remains a priority as evidenced by 193 parties to the Paris Agreement filing nationally determined targets, with 151 parties submitting enhanced targets in 2021. This remains a transformative moment […]
Read More COP 28 can not ignore the need to own-source Energy like coal for IndiaSeventy percent of Indians believe that their country is a world leader in climate action—the highest endorsement across 29 advanced, upper- and lower-middle-income economies excluding China, as per the IPSOS Global Survey. On average, only 31 percent globally and 41 percent of Swedes and 38 percent of Singaporeans share this belief about their own countries. […]
Read More IPSOS Global Survey 2023 on Climate Action Perceptions
Opinion India 