Swaminomics

Having overcome a series of obstacles ranging from Prakash Karat to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, India’s plans for a massive nuclear power progra mme now face an even more daunting obstacle – Mamata Banerjee. Having tasted blood at Nandigram and Singur, she will not sit by quietly and allow a huge nuclear power park to More >

Whether or not the Nuclear Suppliers Group approves the Indo-US nuclear deal — this is unclear as I write this column — many experts think India should focus on solar rather than nuclear power for the future. An excellent case for this was made recently in this newspaper by Anand Mahindra. However, events at Singur More >

Thanks to its English language advantage, India has become world leader in call centres and back office outsourcing. China cannot compete because very few Chinese speak English. To rectify this, China has made English compulsory in schools. Will it soon give India tough competition in outsourcing? I doubt it. I was asked once by a Chinese magazine More >

Some brave souls in the Congress Party want to go for an early election this November-December, rather than wait till May 2009. Most analysts regard this as very risky. Inflation is running at over 12%, and high prices have historically caused large-scale deprivation and led to electoral defeats for incumbent governments. However, Cristina Savescu of More >

On August 15, India celebrated independence from the British Raj. But Kashmiris staged a bandh demanding independence from India. A day symbolising the end of colonialism in India became a day symbolising Indian colonialism in the Valley. As a liberal, i dislike ruling people against their will. True, nation-building is a difficult and complex exercise, More >

The next general election looks certain to produce another hung Parliament. This will give many politicians a chance to cobble together coalitions and become prime minister. At a recent office discussion, I opined that Mayawati, head of the BSP, had the best chance. Some youngsters in my office found this disturbing. One said, “If Mayawati More >

High inflation means that the Congress-led UPA government is in serious danger of losing the next general election. Voters tend to revolt when inflation exceeds their tolerance level, which today is probably no more than 5%. Wholesale price inflation is currently a whopping 12%. Consumer price data are not available for recent weeks, but are More >

For nearly two decades, Swaminomics has argued that India must stop treating the outside world as a threat – as in the old socialist days – and view it as an opportunity. Historically, India was and can once again become a great trading power. So, I was gratified to find Rahul Gandhi taking this very More >

How important is nuclear power going to be in India’s future? Nobody knows for sure, since the future is full of uncertainties. But the nuclear option is a must for providing energy security. Manmohan Singh thinks nuclear energy will be absolutely vital for India’s energy future, and he might be right. His critics say nuclear More >