India is experiencing record economic growth and record crimialisation of politics at the same time. GDP growth in the June-September quarter was a phenomenal 9.2%, raising hopes that India may actually overtake China in the not-too-distant future. Yet euphoria on […]
Criminalised politics and record GDP growth Read More »
The Sachar Committee has done a good job in putting together data on the Muslim community, and in exposing the many ways in which they suffer deprivation and discrimination. Yet its analysis and recommendations leave much to be desired. The
Market solutions for Muslim discrimination Read More »
Even when markets fail, market-based solutions can often be better than government ones. This needs emphasis in the wake of the Nobel Prize for economics going to George Akerloff, Joseph Stiglitz and Michael Spence, for showing that lack of information
The ultimate lemon Read More »
During the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao last week, there was much loose talk (but no decision) regarding an India- China Free Trade Area (FTA). This is a terrible idea that must be aborted. The most important reason is
Free Trade Area or yuan trap? Read More »
India is firmly in the grip of vote-bank politics. So, the clamour for job reservations for scheduled castes and tribes in the private sector will grow as we approach the state election in Uttar Pradesh next March. The clamour will
Inevitable battle for job quotas Read More »
Traditional sceptics on global warming are becoming believers. Al Gore\’s film \”An Inconvenient Truth\” has convinced many waverers. The Stern report in Britain has just called for urgent action to check global warming. So, the current UN conference on climate
Plausible hypotheses are not scientific facts Read More »
The UN Human Development Report 2006 paints a dismal picture of social development in India, which ranks just 126th out of 177 countries. We must be cautious about glowing predictions that India will soon become a global economic superpower. Without
How non-reform hits human development Read More »
Globalisation has for the first time in history made poverty an advantage. It obliges companies to search the globe for ways to cut costs. The lower the wages in any country, the more competitive production there is, other things equal.
The squeeze on the middle Read More »
I am delighted that the pioneer of microfinance, Mohammed Yunus of Grameen Bank, has won the Nobel Prize. Disclosure norms oblige me to report that I have co-promoted two microfinance institutions, Arohan in Calcutta and Sonata in Allahabad. So I
The Nobel Prize mix-up Read More »
Management guru CK Prahlad is famous for his book “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits.” This shows that the poor, often neglected by corporations as having no purchasing power, can be converted into the
Misfortune at Bottom of Pyramid Read More »
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