Bibek Debroy

Legacy law: Junk the citizen’s arrest law

The second gives credit for this odd piece of legislation to Massachusetts. These days, there are databases to search legislation in many parts of the world. I couldn’t find any such legislation in either Louisiana or Massachusetts. Crime is always defined with reference to a specific piece of legislation.
Federal Finance: The anatomy of equity

Debate around terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission ignores the evolution of constitutional mechanisms for devolution of public finance.
Universal Basic Income: Why talk of UBI when DBT’s here?

Even socialist countries, other than China, haven’t attempted to implement it—not even partially
Pricing: Diamonds are not forever

Nothing is more useful than water: but it will purchase scarcely anything; scarcely anything can be had in exchange for it. A diamond, on the contrary, has scarcely any use-value; but a very great quantity of other goods may frequently be had in exchange for it.
Disappearing sparrows: Urbanisation and the flight of the sparrow

Changing construction aesthetics and changing lifestyles in the cities have left the bird bereft of both habitat and ready sources of food
Labour reforms: Jammu and Kashmir makes a good beginning

Budget 2018: Provisions of the proposed J&K Employment Code are not in public domain. Indeed, the Budget speech suggests it is still work in progress. But there are some clear principles that should drive any such initiative.
Why doing the accessibility audit requires interest on part of state governments

As the audits of IGI airport and SC show, often, layouts are designed to address the most obvious accessibility concerns, not the less apparent ones.
Legislation on forests in India have a colonial and complicated legacy: Bibek Debroy

Perhaps it has something to do with the increased popularity of Feng Shui. Many people give gifts of Lucky Bamboo.
The Old Order Changeth Not: The states have been lethargic in getting rid of old statutes that need to be repealed

The states have been lethargic in getting rid of old statutes that need to be repealed—in fact, in recent years, just seven have moved on this.
On confusing litigation, Bibek Debroy says ‘you be the judge’

“Even if assumingly no efficacious evidence nor any evidence of cogent worth may stand adduced qua the defendants raising any obstruction upon the suit land yet …
NCPCR reads forced marriages right, not ILO, says Bibek Debroy

While ILO’s survey questions are a textbook example of how responses should not be elicited, NCPCR offers a nuanced perspective.
Bibek Debroy on courts’ productivity and case flow management

Research by Vidhi Centre for legal Policy shows framing of case flow management rules is absent for both high courts and subordinate courts in Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha and UP .
Ease of doing business: India’s 30 spot jump remarkable, churlish to deny credit, says Bibek Debroy

Despite improvements, if one looks at scores, relatively weak areas are dealing with construction permits, registering property, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.
Simplistic to link DeMo and job losses

Linking job losses to demonetisation is trivialising the serious issue of unemployment by confusing correlation with causation.
When cooks get higher salaries than engineers: Bibek Debroy explains state of education

We have been repeatedly warned against blindly believing everything we read or are forwarded. With that dash of sodium chloride, here is the gist of a message I was forwarded, not as a prospective job applicant, since I possess qualifications for neither.
English vs vernacular: India seems to be producing students not comfortable with either

While PISA 2009, in which India participated, and its methodology have been debated, in both English and vernacular, Indian students’ performance was sub-par. This is partly because of generic frailties in education delivery.
Bibek Debroy speaks up in defence of Thomas Macaulay, slams droll trolls; here is what he has to say

There can be a debate on teaching English versus the vernacular, though the postulated trade-off may be non-existent.
Litigation policy: Out on several limbs, says Bibek Debroy

As of June 2017, in LIMBS database, there are 1,35,060 government cases pending, with 369 contempt cases. The Railways has the most and the Panchayati Raj the least
Foreigner Indian Service: Let OCIs take the UPSC exam too

A recent government decision has the potential to blur the difference between public and private recruitment.
Tea is turning into a bitter brew; Bibek Debroy explains

Estate factories that use their own leaf for processing run losses. Cultivation, as opposed to manufacturing, by organised tea estates will probably die out. Note that today, estates are rarely able to meet their obligations under the Plantations Labour Act.
Autonomous bodies review: Part of resentment about panel is because of questions on transparency

Joseph Nye coined the expression “soft power” a bit later, in 1990. Several AB-s are supposed to provide content that can feed into India’s soft power aspirations. Perhaps that’s the reason why, until recently, they constantly faced soft budget constraints.
GST impact on rates: There should be a single rate for everything, says Bibek Debroy

What is a good and simple tax and why is the present indirect tax structure bad and complicated? There are several reasons behind the bad, ugly and complicated visage—the constitutional structure, history and legacy, differential treatment of goods vis-à-vis services, multiple rates and exemptions. Exemptions mean loss in revenue.
Make in India is Work in Progress, unlike 2011 National Manufacturing Policy, which was Work in Promise, says Bibek Debroy

GST has begun the process of unifying indirect taxes. Small saving rates have been reduced. For MSMEs, there is MUDRA and the Stand up India window. Labour laws are being unified under four codes… Many instances of inverted duty structure have been addressed.
Crop residue burning: This is more than a residual problem, says Bibek Debroy

The primary thrust of the 1981 Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act is on industrial and automobile-related pollution. But this doesn’t mean it can’t be used for burning of biomass and crop residue.
Good start on reforming targeted PDS

The next step is automation of supply-chain management— delivery orders, release orders, truck challans, gate passes, receipts and issuance of food-grains, monitoring of stock positions, payments and SMS alerts, when opted for.
Decentarlised planning: No single entity seems clearly tasked with blocks’ development

The oldest existing statute is Bengal Districts Act of 1836. It is a statute with a single sentence and says the following.
Agricultural income taxation: Bibek Debroy presents 12 facts

Not realising there are thresholds, irrespective of whether it is agriculture or non-agriculture, is a deliberate attempt at obfuscation.

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