Sonia Gandhi should thank Finance Minister Chidambaram for resisting proposals to put part of India\’s foreign exchange reserves into a Sovereign Wealth Fund, which would buy equity shares in top global companies. Such a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF)—an idea backed […]
Why Sonia should thank Chidambaram Read More »
For 60 years, the International Monetary Fund has bailed out distressed economies, imposing onerous conditions aimed at ensuring that the loans are repaid. The borrowers have often complained that loan conditions violate their sovereignty. The IMF is dominated by rich
Strange rise of Eastern neo-colonialism Read More »
RK Pachauri, head of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, is getting nightmares because of the Nano, Tata\’s Rs 1 lakh car. Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) says that it isn\’t the Nano by itself
Attack polluting policies, not the Nano Read More »
After four years of boasting of 9% GDP growth, and talking of overtaking China, Indians are reluctant to believe that the economy is headed for a serious fall. But the stock market has crashed, an indication of the pain ahead.
End of the 9% Growth Dream Read More »
This year’s budget is not simply an election budget. It is also an anti-recession budget. It seeks explicitly to stimulate the domestic economy in the face of the coming global slowdown. Yet the exercise will have at best very partial
Budget Stimulus is not Enough Read More »
Political ploys initially hailed as master-strokes often end up as flops. I suspect this will happen to the Rs 60,000 crore farm loan waiver announced in the budget. It writes off 100% of overdues of small and marginal farmers holding
Loan waiver: Not an election winner Read More »
For a short but incisive economic history of India since Independence, you should read the first hundred pages of Arvind Panagariya’s new book (India: The Emerging Giant, OUP). He follows this up with an excellent discussion of key contemporary problems,
The high cost of delayed reform Read More »
Dear finance minister, You are about to present your fifth and last full budget in your current term. Next year, you can present only a vote on account because a general election is due in May 2009. So, you will
Election budgets don\’t win votes Read More »
Dear finance minister, You are about to present your fifth and last full budget in your current term. Next year, you can present only a vote on account because a general election is due in May 2009. So, you will
Election budgets don\’t win votes Read More »
The IMF prescribed severe austerity and economic shrinkage. You chaps have been living beyond your means for years, it said, and have severe structural problems that cannot be reflated away. So, you need bitter monetary medicine (sky-high interest rates) and
Is IMF austerity only for the poor? Read More »
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