governance, political economy, institutional development and economic regulation
The Modi government has its near-term challenges well defined – containing China, Covid and Congress in the order they are presented. The Congress bogey Of these, the last seems the most doable. The Congress lingers primarily because Indians are habituated to hedge their bets and have a back-up plan. Never put all your eggs in […]
Read More Containing the 3Cs- China, Covid and CongressAlt-Right strategic opinion is convinced that the assertion of incremental claims over the upper reaches of the Galwan river valley in Ladakh reflects the habitual greediness of China which “nibbles away” at borders in a near continuous expansion of territory. In doing so it also constantly tests the limits to which it can push the […]
Read More Neighborly discord in the Galwan valleyPolitics is heating up. Elections in Bihar loom in November with Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu* and West Bengal tightly packed together in May next year, just after the FY 2021-22 budget. Bihar remains rural at heart. Luckily for the BJP, agriculture is the bright star in the Indian economy with expected growth of 3%. Doesn’t […]
Read More The price of fiscal exuberanceA visit by the United States President (POTUS), months before the American elections, can be many things — a farewell trip, collecting paybacks for past favours or simply a low-risk, synchronised “feel good” ride amidst millions of adoring Indians — reliving thereby the past grandeur of America as a global beacon for developing world fantasies […]
Read More “Treating POTUS better” is good for India tooFour decades ago on January 16, 1979, Iran’s last “Persian” ruler Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi fled his palace near Tehran never to return, thus ending a divisive rule of nearly four decades. The fallout, which occasioned his political demise, was a mass outpouring of anger against entitled westernised elites; State led dilution of traditional cultures and lifestyles; […]
Read More A Shah is born in IndiaAjit Doval, India’s National Security Czar is unafraid of plain speak. But he may have overstated his case by opining yesterday that a uniform pan-India governance architecture would be best for the nation. Diversity drives political contestation and change This is not quite the way the Constitution envisages India being governed. India is undoubtedly a […]
Read More Ajit Doval’s plain speakClimate change seems inevitable. Risk takers who go long on property should check out locations in Canada, Siberia and Greenland. These hitherto frozen places are expected to become attractive relocation favourites in a rapidly warming world. Collective action a distant dream The international institutional architecture for concerted effort has been negligent in protecting future generations. […]
Read More Acclimatizing IndiaOver 125 years ago, in May 1893, a diminutive, young lawyer boarded a first-class train compartment at Durban on his way to his new workplace in Pretoria, South Africa. At Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, in the middle of the chilly night, over 500 km short of his destination, he was evicted. He had a valid ticket. […]
Read More Gandhism – ethics? or just good politics.Prof. Ashutosh Varshney of Brown University calls India an improbable democracy — poor, impossibly heterogeneous and multicultural, and ironically, only its colonial heritage keeps it going. So has our hubris cost us plenty? Why we are not China Forget comparing ourselves with China today. Are we at least on the same path? No, we are […]
Read More The price of democracyEvery passing day, America plays the truculent, ageing diva on the wane, whilst China exudes a quiet, confident gravitas. Their chosen global roles, however, do not reflect the fundamentals of either country. America is one of the few developed countries with a robust economy, relative to its overwhelming size. It grew smartly at an average […]
Read More India’s geopolitical choices till 2040