Why would you sell your heart?

Let us assume for the purposes of our discussion that surgical procedures do not entail much risk. Would it be alright then to legalise the kidney trade? To answer this question as well as understand land transactions better, consider the example.....

Buying land and selling kidneys

I was recently invited to give a lecture in Kolkata on whether to legalise the sale in human organs. Coincidentally, the day before the lecture, I was in Singur to discuss with farmers the issue of land acquisition.

Of plastic and pockets

Plastic bags have been in the courts and in the news. In August 2008, the Delhi High Court mandated an increase in the minimum thickness of plastic carrier bags from 20 to 40 microns.

Piling it up ain’t too good

There has been a steady and durable build-up of surplus cash balances of state governments in the last four financial years. The state government cash surpluses are automatically invested in the 14-day Intermediate Treasury Bills.

Coarse cereals can do the job too

The draft Food Security Act, which was to be introduced in the Parliament’s winter session this year, is reportedly delayed. Against the backdrop of a drought, interestingly, the problem is not so much whether there are sufficient food stocks to distribute.

Futures and our future

From 2005 onwards, the macroeconomists of the world were worried about a different crisis: the dollar crisis. The US was on a path of building up external debt at an unsustainable pace, the flip side of which was the currency distortions in China and other Asian countries.

The good news, analysed better

Signs of recovery are visible in nearly all the macro economic indicators that we monitor. Industrial production, imports, exports and credit conditions have improved in the most recent data.

Let coal be green

It is well accepted that power generation is the primary contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in India. According to an OECD study, approximately 50% of India’s total GHG emissions are produced by its power sector.

Hand in hand

India has seen greater integration with the world economy through trade in goods and services, and through financial integration, over the past two decades.

Hats off to the merchants

Healthy political ties are considered positive for bilateral economic engagement. Bilateral trade, investment and commercial transactions are expected to enhance along with improvement in mutual political ties.

Read long, not short

When the equity market works badly, there is poor disclosure about companies, so day-to-day changes in stock prices based on information revelation by companies take place to a limited extent.

We no longer walk the moon

The failure of bank risk models was inevitable. Worse, it was predictable. In grave danger of sounding incredibly immodest, I, and others, predicted it a few years back in a series of articles and lectures including Banks put themselves at risk in Basel, Financial Times, October 17, 2002.

Small is smart

Microfinance is big these days. It may be called ‘micro’ but there is nothing small-time about it. It serves more than 100 million poor people worldwide. About $25 billion is lent out worldwide through various microfinance programmes.

Direct tax code pursues structural change

The Direct Taxes Code, unveiled by the finance minister last week, signals a paradigm shift in the direct tax regime for the Indian economy. It seeks to address some of the key facets of a progressive tax regime—simplicity, uniformity, clarity, stability, ease of compliance...

Some winners, some losers

India has finally taken a giant step towards making structural changes in direct taxes by releasing a draft of the proposed new Direct Tax Code for public debate. The proposed DTC would replace the existing income tax and wealth tax laws upon enactment.

On cutthroat track

The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report for 2009-2010 will be out in September. Widely watched by analysts, it has a bearing on inward investment.

RBI has got to do it

In this business cycle downturn, the Indian economy consequently, is now a demand constrained economy. The sharp fall in external demand, the decline in investment demand, and the decline in corporate sales indicate that private demand has shrunk.

Pranab Mukherjee’s big bet

Physical infrastructure has a direct impact on the growth and overall development of an economy. As the Indian economy showed a significant growth of 6.7% amidst the global financial crisis, efficient infrastructure is essential to achieve the estimated growth rate of 9% for current financial year and future prosperity.

Seasoned numbers

In India, many people use year-on-year changes of time-series in order to track the economy. This procedure has important weaknesses.

Pump the buck back

The Indian diaspora comprises around 23 million people spread over 110 countries. It includes people of Indian origin and non-resident Indians with the latter consisting of Indian citizens emigrating overseas and non-emigrants travelling abroad on professional or personal grounds.

A tall order

The current constellation of stars seems quite favourable for a complete overhaul of the education system with a new dynamic Minister, who is encouraging high expectations. The new government is also talking of positive change.

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