governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
It is a measure of the randomness of the policy changes in the United States that the left hand no longer knows what the right is doing or more appropriately neither of its two right hands know what the other is up to. Working at cross purposes Consider that Elon Musk, reportedly working overtime, sleeps […]
Read More Trump’s DOGE & “Reciprocal Tariffs”: Different StrokesThe 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 BharatUplifting tailwinds, inspired by personal chemistry, boosted America-India friendship to unprecedented levels in the public imagination, via two never-before joint, public events – “Howdy Modi” in Houston, 2019 when Modi called the 2020 US election for Trump. The resultant bond of friendship was sealed by “Namaste Trump” in Ahmedabad, India early in 2020. But it […]
Read More HuM Do Aur Woh: America, INDIA & ChinaSpace spectrum is in the news and not just because of Boeing’s woes – first a faulty Starliner launch, abandoning NASA astronauts at the International Space Station and now, a satellite exploding in orbit, outing services globally. Nearer home, India takes tentative steps to complement terrestrial spectrum services with direct to phone satellite services while […]
Read More Space Spectrum Tussle and consumer BenefitsSocial roles evolve over the long term. Today’s “mother” need not be a female and a “father” not necessarily male. In the context of increasingly degenderized institutional roles, recent social policy reversals in Russia, China and the United States come as surprises- not least because equality is a central tenet of both Socialism and Liberalism. […]
Read More Global Illiberalism is rolling back gender equalityIn 2024 the United States and the European Union together added 39 percent of global GDP (2015 $). China was second at 19 percent whilst India lagged at 3.5 percent. Together these four economies added 62 percent to global GDP. Incredible as it might seem, in the short span of thirty-six years, by 2060- within […]
Read More Can India replace China?India plans to be a “developed” economy by 2047 even as it navigates the economic disruptions of the energy transition. To achieve this goal, India needs consistently higher levels of growth in national income to enhance the pool of investible capital—a crucial input into development. High national income is a necessary but not a sufficient […]
Read More Aspirations must be backed by investments for the energy transitionRhetoric was rife at the opening of COP 28 with the Secretary General of the United Nations calling for an end to the burning of fossil fuels. “Not reduce, Not abate, Phase out” he recommended. This urgency found no salience finally in the first global stock, attended by nearly 200 countries, 85,000 participants with 55,000 […]
Read More Beyond the rhetoric COP28 DubaiThe 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 IndiaEnergy transition projections remain open ended about phasing down coal mining and coal-based power generation. This is, unsurprisingly, the most difficult segment of the transition for India because coal reserves are the only fossil energy resource India has in abundance. Ten coal producers account for about 90 percent of global coal production—China-50 percent, India-10 percent, Indonesia-7 […]
Read More Reality check: Coal CCUS Key for Energy Transition
Opinion India 