How well has Narendra Modi fared in two years? On the economic side, he has not been the radical reformer liberalisers hoped for. On the socio-political side, he has not been the communal ogre that many liberals feared. He has …
PM Narendra Modi at mid-term is good enough for re-election in 2019 Read More »
Brexit heralds not just Britain’s exit from the European Union but the decline and maybe fall of the 20th century ideal of a liberal, globalised world. It heralds a 21st century ethos based on ultra-nationalism and racist xenophobia, blaming foreigners …
Brexit may mean end of globalisation as we know it; stormy days lie ahead Read More »
Even before Brexit, India has suffered Rexit. Raghuram Rajan has announced he will exit as RBI governor when his term ends in September. Every RBI governor since 1992 got an extension. So, Rajan’s case stands out. Global investors widely view …
Rexit: This government has just shot itself in the foot Read More »
Foreign investors I met in Singapore in May were anxious to know whether Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan would get a second term. Almost all of them said that billions of dollars would flow out of India …
The markets are not irrationally in love with RBI chief Raghuram Rajan Read More »
Booms and busts are not aberrations. They are intrinsic to market democracies. Many folks love the idea of steady, uninterrupted progress. This is socialism’s false promise, and helps explain why that philosophy remains attractive to many despite proven repeated failure. …
Does GDP growth matter in state elections? A statistical exercise by this newspaper some years ago suggested that if average GDP growth during the incumbent’s rule accelerated compared with the five previous years, there was a 60% chance the incumbent …
State growth performance favours Mamata Banerjee and is iffy for Jayalalithaa Read More »
Six months ago, I wrote a column, ‘Why bother about small interest rate changes in India?’, (goo.gl/7cFp1L, September 16, 2015) that I could reproduce and yet be spot on after the RBI’s cut in interest rates last week. It will …
RBI’s interest-rate cut will hardly matter to the macroeconomic situation Read More »
I have welcomed this Budget, but with fingers crossed. First, it may be based on faulty statistics. Second, the global financial typhoon sweeping across emerging markets may make nonsense of all Budget projections. Nominal GDP is projected to grow 11% …
Dodgy statistics and global tempests can sink Budget calculations Read More »
Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. The current rant against ‘anti-national’ slogans at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) highlights the abundance of scoundrels among Indian politicians and television anchors. The notion that there can be only one concept of …
JNU stir: Why ‘anti-nationalism’ is an empty abuse that has no place in a free society Read More »
Oil has crashed from $110 a barrel to $28 a barrel, and could fall to $20 a barrel. Many other commodity prices have crashed. What is happening, and why? Oil supply has shot up even as demand has slowed. Non-Opec …
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