governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
In the world of venture capital, market share matters more than profits because scaling-up builds investor expectations. By this metric, renewable energy is already the future. India’s renewables share in total generation doubled from 5.6 to 11 percent over the past six years since 2015. A share of 25 percent is targeted by 2030 primarily […]
Read More Renewing our future at GlasgowLivability in a city, over the past 18 months is strongly influenced by the extent of the ravages unleashed by the COVID-19 virus. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) annual survey done in February 2021, “The Livability Index”, focuses on the pandemic’s impact on city rankings. It is a relief that no Indian city is in […]
Read More Indian cities: Victims of outdated political-economy constructsElectricity is at the core of a digitized India. The digital world was brought home to the average citizen via liberalization of telecom in 1995. A near universal shift from low access in fixed telephony to near universal mobile connectivity for 1 trillion adults, including net connectivity for two thirds, illustrates the impressive results achieved […]
Read More Sculpting new age power utilitiesSome babies never grow up. Vodafone Idea is one such fat, old, baby which is now crying for help. That the agreements for Telecom Licensees are badly worded is obvious from the unintended Kafkaesque consequences emanating from the strict legal interpretation by the Supreme Court. Indian utility regulation deeply flawed Sadly, this is not the first […]
Read More Indian utilities are babies which should go with their bath waterAmid 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 revivalThe 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 checkA core staff of just around 400 persons borrowed from the Union government, leveraged temporarily with an additional five million staff from the Centre and state governments to manage polling for 900 million electors — more than 66 per cent of whom are expected to cast their vote this year — would be a recipe […]
Read More Weak institutions undermine India’s Election CommissionOne wo(man) one vote” is the nominal cornerstone of our democracy. But in practice the elective power of a vote varies significantly across states. On the surface, we are very democratic — elections are held regularly and voter enthusiasm has not waned unlike elsewhere. Participative Indians Voter turnout — the proportion of those on the […]
Read More How much is your vote worth?Terror, says our Supreme Court, is not just a heinous crime. It is crime with the intent of destabilising the Union of India and striking terror in the hearts and minds of Indians. We are not new to terror. But the digital age has made it easier for terrorists to instil fear and suspicion where […]
Read More Is a 26/11 terror redux probable?In Britain, “buggery” between consenting adults became legal in 1967. Let me hasten to assure that I use the crude term “buggery” not to mock the LGBT community. This is the physical act, defined by its antiseptic moniker “voluntary carnal intercourse against the order of nature”, which was excised from Section 377 of the Indian […]
Read More #Gender & #sexuality norms #India 2018