Swaminomics

I give only one cheer for the Women’s Reservation Bill, not two and certainly not three. Of all the reservations we have devised to transform society, this will transform the least. Still, it may do some marginal good, so let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good. Critics have highlighted many flaws of More >

Price controls do not quell inflation, and abolishing price controls won’t accelerate inflation. Many politicians and readers will disagree. They are dismayed by the restoration of old taxes on crude, petrol and diesel in the Budget, and the consequent increase in prices. They fear that if petroleum product prices are even partially deregulated later this More >

When this column revealed in January that Bihar had averaged 11% growth in the last five years, many people asked, “Do you really believe this?” I visited Bihar last week to check. My conclusion: Bihar’s economic boom is indeed real. But it is fragile and dependent on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar getting re-elected in the More >

The Kirit Parikh Committee is the third such committee to suggest decontrolling petroleum product prices. Probably politicians will again refuse to do so, and instead decree a modest increase in petrol and diesel prices. Yet the key issue is not whether petrol and diesel prices should reflect today’s oil price of $75/barrel. It is that More >

A recent news report highlighted the fact that only 48.3% of Indian children in Class 1 could read the English alphabet, even in big capital letters. The annual education audit by the NGO Pratham showed that Gujarat had the worst record: only 25.3% of Gujarati children could read capital letters in English, and only 8% More >

The biggest outcry against inflation relates to the 40-50% price rise of some pulses — arhar, masoor, moong — to almost Rs 100/kilo. Pulses — dals and other protein-rich crops like gram, chickpeas (chhole) and red beans (rajma) — have historically been the main protein source of poor people. Their protein content is 20-25%, double More >

I was both enthused and disappointed when i visited the Ajanta and Ellora caves last week. I was enthused by the scale of the caves across entire mountain sides; the high quality of sculpture and painting; and the co-existence of Buddhist, Jain and Hindu caves in perfect harmony. But i was disappointed that the sculpture More >

India achieved record annual GDP growth, averaging 8.45%, in the five years, 2004-05 to 2008-09. But was this inclusive, and did it benefit the poor masses? We have no data on poverty beyond 2004-05. But the CSO has current data on the economic growth of the states. Historically, the chronically poor states were Orissa plus More >

The Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline has been discussed for almost a decade, with its proponents arguing that it will promote our energy security. After 26/11, the project is dead. No Indian government can proceed with a deal that will give Pakistan a knife at India’s energy throat. Far from promoting our energy security, it would More >

It has been the best of decades, the worst of decades. In the 2000s, India became an economic growth champion (especially in services), and was recognized as a potential super-power through admission to the world’s nuclear club. But the same decade witnessed gross misgovernance, rising terrorism and Maoist insurrection, and outrageously high rates of malnutrition More >

Should India be broken up into smaller states? After the decision to give statehood to Telangana, many analysts want a new States Reorganization Commission. India today has 28 states. Assuming 20% population growth since the last census, Uttar Pradesh has 198 million people, more than Brazil, Russia or Pakistan. Maharashtra has 106 million, West Bengal More >

You might think from the media coverage that the Copenhagen summit on climate change is epochal. Wrong. Copenhagen hardly matters. If it doesn’t produce an agreement, it clearly won’t matter. But even if it yields an agreement, that will matter very little. Why? Because reducing carbon emissions by 80% from the 1990 levels – the More >

Various world leaders have given their somewhat tepid reactions to US President Obama’s proposal to increase US troops in Afghanistan by 30,000 and then start withdrawing all troops by July 2011. No formal reaction has come from Mullah Omar, head of the Taliban. Let me try to get into his head and compose a message More >