That there is no defense for old farm laws is vividly illustrated by the hypocrisy, and intellectual dishonesty, of those defending the richest farmers in India
Lockdowns were an unnatural experiment, and they have not worked in achieving their major health objective of fewer infections or slower pace of infections
The Indian Covid response package combines short-term macro policy with long-term structural reforms, and at around 5% of GDP, one of the largest in the world
Contrary to forecast expectations, the corporate tax cut of September 2019 have led to an increase in tax revenues, and given a boost to economic growth
Sometimes, a proud nation has to recognise that its statistical institution is failing the most basic of credibility “smell” tests; and is in dire need of reform.
We will all miss Arun Jaitley very much—for his non-partisan friendship, his intellect & his immense contributions to policy making. Above all, he was a brilliant ideas man
Is India as different as claimed by “experts”? My own experience, and interpretation, is that India is very different because the experts (perhaps including those at the Central Bank) look at monetary policy very differen
Sooner India engages in foreign currency borrowing, the quicker it can profit from this market imperfection, shows cross-country evidence for the last twenty years.
Arvind Subramanian’s method of estimating GDP suggests that Germany overestimates the most; brazil underestimates GDP the most—India only a mild outlier.
There is no going back; and the people believe Modi and trust Modi to deliver. That is why this election was about the delivery, and promise, of the Modi government.
By the strangest of coincidences, the election forecast (for BJP and Congress alone) contained in my book Citizen Raj (and reproduced here), the exit polls seemed to centre around 270-280 seats for the BJP and around 50-60 se
Opinions vary, but not the reality. 2014 election was contested around the economy—2019 election is being fought along similar lines. Will the result be similar?
NSSO should be again made a leader in the provision and quality of statistics, as it was under the chairmanship of the late PC Mahalanobis in the 1950s and1960s.
Indian institutions are operating with the same mindset and technology and outlook that the pioneers did 70 years ago. But the world, and technology, has moved on. Not us, though.
Congress consulted extensively with economists to define minimum income for NYAY—-all it did, really, was to update the tendulkar poverty line to today’s prices
On March 15, 2018, 108 economists and scientists released a letter titled, Economic Statistics in Shambles, published in the prestigious Economic and Political Weekly, that accused the Modi government of suppressing data. It
By introducing a DBT for the farmer, the govt appears to have taken the first step towards dismantling the corrupt policy of food procurement and distribution
The downtrodden, especially those historically so, like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, did deserve special consideration, and should have been identified and provided with state-defined extra income support.
India does not need 12 million jobs a year – it needs less than 5 million. A large part of the so-called jobs crisis is because of demand for government jobs, not jobs per se.