The course of wars cannot be predicted. The Ukraine war may end in a few weeks with Russia and Ukraine signing a face-saving deal. Or it may drag on for months before ending in a muddled stalemate. Or it could carry on a full year with Russian military occupation foiled by guerrilla resistance. Many predict […]
Russia-Ukraine conflict: Is an outright recession now inevitable? Read More »
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is going to take a heavy toll of India\’s economy. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have flooded out of emerging markets, stock and bond markets are down, and the trade gap is getting exacerbated by high import prices (especially of oil). The disruption of global shipping has worsened congestion that
A bio-decomposer developed by a research institute and a pesticide firm has the potential to make North India’s pollution woes a thing of the past. Sometimes a breakthrough seems too good to be true. A solution is in sight to end the terrible air pollution that suffocates Delhi-wallahs every October and November when farmers in
Solution to stubble burning that polluted Delhi air, is finally here Read More »
When the BJP swept Uttar Pradesh’s state election’s five years ago, it was clearly Narendra Modi’s victory. This time it was also Yogi Adityanath’s victory. UP has denied chief ministers of any party re-election for 37 years. Yogi has bucked the anti-incumbency trend with an increased vote share (from 39.7% to 41.3%) despite very unfavourable
Yogi’s crusade against crime pays dividends Read More »
I have covered many election rallies but never come as close to death as at a rally of Akhilesh Yadav, head of the Samajwadi Party, in Ballia, eastern Uttar Pradesh, on March 1. Some of us journalists had been allowed into the security zone 30 yards wide in front of the raised speakers’ dais, protected
What a close shave in UP tells us about BJP’s prospects Read More »
Far from condemning Russia for invading Ukraine, some Indians admire it. One person asked me: “Why can’t we be like Russia and invade Pakistan-occupied Kashmir?” He saw nothing immoral in it. An amoral answer is that India lacks Russia’s immense military superiority. Unlike Russia, India faces a nuclear-armed foe backed by a superpower (China), whereas
Ukraine will upend Sitharaman’s dream budget Read More »
Innumerable customs duty changes in the budget occupy 52 pages of tedious print. This entrenches the current protectionist. The earlier Atal Bihari Vajpayee era of BJP rule went for aggressive tariff-cutting, improving Indian competitiveness and spurring record GDP growth exceeding 8% in 2003-08. The Narendra Modi era is going steadily in the opposite direction, in
It\’s time India realises the economic perils of rising protectionism Read More »
Innumerable customs duty changes in the budget occupy 52 pages of tedious print. This entrenches the current protectionist. The earlier Atal Bihari Vajpayee era of BJP rule went for aggressive tariff-cutting, improving Indian competitiveness and spurring record GDP growth exceeding 8% in 2003-08. The Narendra Modi era is going steadily in the opposite direction, in
It\’s time India realises the economic perils of rising protectionism Read More »
Industrialists have delightedly hailed the government’s new green hydrogen policy offering incentives to produce 5 million tons of hydrogen by 2030. India already produces solar and wind energy more cheaply than new thermal power. But while renewables can replace fossil fuels in many uses, coal is still needed in industries like steel and cement, and
Why it is too early for government to bet big on green hydrogen Read More »
Well done Shaktikanta Das! The RBI Governor has slammed cryptocurrencies as “a big threat to the country’s financial and macroeconomic stability” and a trap for unwary investors. “Cryptos have no underlying asset, not even a tulip.” History is replete with speculative manias that feed on themselves, pull in enormous numbers of investors, and then burst.
Crypto craze can go the same way as tulip mania Read More »
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