Is India headed for a recession
A question I get asked often these days is this: Is India headed for a recession? The standard definition of recession is a drop in GDP for at least two consecutive quarters. […]
LOOTING THE RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has three main areas of responsibility. It is a banker of banks and is responsible for maintaining public confidence in the banking system. It is also the government’s […]
ABOLISH THE ANGEL INVESTOR TAX
We live in the age of entrepreneurship. The vast majority of products, services and technologies we use today come from new start-ups, and over 70 per cent of global employment is attributed […]
RBI’s INDEPENDENCE AT STAKE
The Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are engaged in a dangerous game of chicken. Game theory tells us that “winning” or playing such a game to its […]
VALUE DESTRUCTION IN STATE RUN BANKS
Who pays when you make a mistake? You do. Who pays when the government makes a mistake? Yes, Still you…..Anonymous
In a bizarre move the government, which controls seventy per cent […]
INDIA’S LOST DECADE
Countries pass through stages on the road to economic prosperity. Economist W.W.Rostow postulated five such stages of economic development: the traditional society, pre-take-off, take -off, drive-to-maturity, and period of mass consumption.
<p style="text-align: […]WATERING DOWN EMINENCE
What comes to mind when you hear the word “eminent” ? Most reasonable people would associate eminence with someone that has attained a level of achievement far beyond others through years of hard work, […]
NOT HEDGING OIL PRICES IS REALLY DUMB
Governments and bureaucracies were never designed to produce strategic thinking and efficient outcomes. Decision making requires courage, and when the primary objective is […]
WHAT MODI CAN LEARN FROM TRUMP
The New York Times (NYT) is as rabidly anti-Trump as any other newspaper in the world. So recently (June 1, 2018) when the […]
POOR PLANNING SCREWS UP THE AIR INDIA DEAL
Recently the government put Air India up for sale. Predictably, they made the terms of the deal so onerous that there were no […]
SKILLING MODERN INDIA’S WORKFORCE
Education and skill development fulfil two goals simultaneously: an economic goal to provide businesses with a skilled workforce necessary to enhance productivity, improve competitiveness and increase economic growth, and a social goal […]
INDIA NEEDS PRINCIPLES NOT POLICIES
I hate watching evening debates on Indian television. Besides the uncontrolled shouting and the lack of intelligent and respectful discussion, it is always […]
MOODY’S HELPS MODI
Various Indian governments have been pushing the global credit rating agencies (CRA’s) to reexamine the country’s credit rating given its clean seventy-year credit history and recent economic growth. Last week Moody’s finally […]
REFORMING INDIA’S WELFARE SYSTEM
Most countries provide some form of welfare assistance to those who are less fortunate. And while there might be disagreement on how to […]
I AM A LIBERTARIAN–ARE YOU?
Libertarianism is the philosophy of liberty–of personal, political and economic freedom. The modern concept of liberty emphasizes the right of individuals to live […]
10 WAYS TO GET THE ECONOMY MOVING
There are reports that the government is contemplating a Rs. 50,000 crore stimulus to boost the economy. The notion that governments need to […]
INDIA’S NEW RULES ON HIRING
No relevant background for the job, no problem. India has set a precedent by being the first country to make it illegal for […]
HOW MODI CAN TRANSFORM INDIA -4
Dear Mr. Modi:
In the first three parts of my letter to you, I argued that the principal cause for many of […]
HOW MODI CAN TRANSFORM INDIA – 3
Dear Mr. Modi: (Part 3)
In Part 1 of my letter, I analyzed four of your recent decisions […]
HOW MODI CAN TRANSFORM INDIA –1
Dear Mr. Modi:
Your commitment to making India great is unquestionable. Your tireless promotion of Brand India is unparalleled in Indian politics. […]
GDP: AN ABSTRACT CONSTRUCT
We all want economic progress. But how should we measure economic progress?
In last week’s newsletter, I used the analogy of a […]
INDIA’S FALTERING ECONOMIC GROWTH
India’s GDP growth has declined now for four consecutive quarters. Total GDP ( Gross Domestic Product) has dropped almost 3.1% since the 4th quarter of 2016. Future GDP will likely get worse as […]
SWACHH BHARAT: SOLUTIONS
The only way to solve India’s waste management problems is by getting the government and local municipalities out of the waste management business and creating incentives for private companies to bring in […]
SWACHH BHARAT: PROBLEMS
Almost three years ago the then newly elected Prime Minister Mr. Modi used the bully pulpit of his office to address a vital […]
GST TAX: A GOOD TAX POLICY BOTCHED BY THE GOVERNMENT
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak….Hans Hoffman
In a World Bank ranking on […]
ELIMINATE BLACK MONEY BY ABOLISHING INCOME TAX
Here is a radical proposition. Abolish all current taxes in India: by all I mean all the 50 or so different direct and indirect […]
MODI’S INTEREST RATE MANIPULATION: BAD ECONOMICS
Almost all government programs are started with good intentions, but the results are always the opposite of the intentions of the well-meaning people who originally backed it. – Milton Friedman (Nobel Prize, Economics, […]
GET GOVERNMENT OUT OF SPORTS
The Niti Ayog, the government’s premier think tank, recently unveiled a plan called First Play which lays down a strategy for getting India 50 medals in […]
THE BLACK MONEY BOGEYMAN
Much has been written about demonetization and the impunity with which the elected leader of a country destroyed the currency of the fastest growing […]
DEMONETIZATION: A RECKLESS GAMBLE
When people start losing faith in the currency, it marks the start of the nation’s decline
Thomas Jefferson
Mr. Modi’s decision to demonetize […]
INFLATION TARGETING IN INDIA
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has several roles. It is the banker’s bank and is responsible for maintaining public confidence in the banking system. It is […]
OPEN LETTER TO MY KASHMIRI FRIENDS
It is sad to see the current state of affairs in this beautiful land of your birth, Kashmir. An entire generation is being lost, […]
THE URI ATTACK: A CHESS GAME
The recent attacks on Uri by Pakistani trained terrorists is part of a strategic chess game that has been slowly playing out over the last decade, […]