governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
Going cashless is a good idea. For the government, the biggest gain is an easy audit trail to assess individuals and businesses to tax and to ferret out illegal transactions like the financing of crime, terror, smuggling and drugs. For individuals, plastic (payment cards) and e-money provides far greater security, despite the risk from cybercrime. […]
Read More How to junk cash and whenTerminally ill people are opting to deep freeze their body hoping for a cure some day which would make them come miraculously alive and be well. But would you opt to temporarily freeze 85 per cent of your bodily functions merely because you cannot compete with the explosive, short burst speed of Usain Bolt but […]
Read More Deep freezing IndiaRamchandra “Ram” Guha’s latest book- Democrats and Dissenters – a collection of sixteen essays – is a meandering but delightful read. Part one explains India. Part two is about the scholars who have helped Ram do so. The link between the two parts is a stretch unless part two is the marshalling of a scholastic […]
Read More Book Review: Ram Guha’s latest soupUdan — the new regional air connectivity scheme — is not likely to get the aam aadmi (common man) to fly, but it will correct the historical wrong done to the air transport business in India. The hallmark of faux socialism was the targeting of some services and goods as “luxury” and by implication, anti-common […]
Read More Fly India, flyDavenport and Kirby’s book “Only Humans Need Apply” Harper.2016 comes with a whiff of optimism and plenty of specific practical advice- based on real life cases- for professionals – scientists, radiologists, teachers, actuaries, financial analysts, lawyers and all “knowledge workers” who fear loss of jobs. This is where it is different from the previous, […]
Read More Is a machine kicking u out?Amitav Ghosh’s latest book—The Great Derangement—is an exploration of why contemporary culture, imagination and political systems have failed to prevent global warming, despite its cataclysmic long-term effects and disruptive short-term outcomes. His choice of the book’s title reflects the conundrum facing poor nations. They are not the ones who benefited from the carbon economy. But […]
Read More Book Review: Just erratic not derangedSolar powered sun and rain shades in India! India formally ratified the Paris climate agreement on Sunday, notwithstanding that Donald Trump trashed global warming, last week, as a hoax and efforts to control it as expensive and ineffective. The United States contributes around 16 per cent of world carbon emissions. Truculence in its approach to […]
Read More India’s “green” movesDeep ploughing is necessary for reform results. Photo credit: hardrainproject.com The government is stacking up its “reform credentials”. The long elusive Goods and Services Tax is now part of the constitutional scheme for taxes. This has been followed up with a double-punch by putting to rest the colonial tradition of a separate railway budget. Bye bye […]
Read More Plough deep for reform resultsConnectography: Mapping the Global Network Revolution, Parag Khanna, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2016 In the 1980s, Disney World, Florida offered a gripping, virtual journey as viewed by a blood corpuscle as it rushes through the arteries, veins, into and out of organs in the human body. Parag Khanna’s fourth and latest book –Connectography: Mapping the Global […]
Read More Book ReviewIf Suresh Prabhu has his way this is how Indians would travel routinely on vacation. Today these luxury trains are expensive immersive “period” experiences for foreign tourists. Photo credit: http://www.2luxury2.com The 28 million passengers who use the Indian Railways daily fear March as much as ancient Romans feared the Ides of March. This is when […]
Read More Prabhu tightens “free lunches” in Indian Railways
Opinion India 