Tech What One Deserves
France shows the way in taxing digital giants and presenting a united front to the US France has enacted legislation to tax digital giants like Amazon and Facebook on their revenue, not profits. India — which levies a 6% tax …
The Economic Times
Why the Sky is Not Falling
There are technical weaknesses in Subramanian’s claim of 4.5% growth Last week, former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian claimed in an Indian Express column (bit.do/ eVn2A), based on his new research paper, that GDP growth in 2011-16 was only 4.5%, …
Notwithstanding No Naukri
Why did rising unemployment not hurt Prime Minister Narendra Modi? The latest National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report shows that unemployment has risen to a record 6.1% in 2017-18, almost triple the 2.2% in 2011-12. NSSO claims this is partly …
Oh, Let Baigan Be Baigan!
Farmers — not activists — prove the case for genetically modified brinjal Haryana has cracked down on genetically modified (GM) brinjal (eggplant). This variety passed field trials back in 2009, but was stalled by alarmist activists, who bludgeoned a timid …
So Much for Hindu Rashtra
We, the people of India, are all Africans, Harappans, Steppe Asians and more While BJP trumpets Hindu nationalism in its election campaign, the question, ‘Who are we?’ has been answered brilliantly by Tony Joseph in a new book, Early Indians: …
Choke City to MetroPolis
Tax vehicle entry into cities to fund metro rail expansion and lower pollution Traffic congestion and pollution in major Indian cities have become unbearable. The two are connected. When road jams occur, and a journey takes an hour instead of …
Watch Out, Capital Dumpers
A case for a minimum alternative tax on revenues, not on profits Few would believe that the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) managing director, Christine Lagarde, would ever call for developing countries to increase taxation of multinational corporations. She has done …
Cash Transfers? Yes. UBI? No
Ten million farmers have received their first instalment of ₹2,000 under the PM-Kisan scheme, and will receive ₹6,000 in a full year. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi has promised a minimum income for all if elected. Many experts believe India is on …
Counting on Better Numbers
RBI needs to calculate and monitor public sector borrowing requirement After the interim budget, economic experts on TV bemoaned the smoke and mirrors that cloak the true extent of the fiscal deficit. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) recently castigated …
The Hole in India’s Heart
Nobody cares about workers who die cleaning sewers in abysmal conditions We boast of great scientific feats. We have sent a space mission to orbit Mars. Our submarines can hit any target in the world with nuclear weapons. Yet, our scientific …
