Dear Mr Chidambaram, As a feminist myself, I am happy that you are now interested in gender budgeting. But many projects and policies (highway or liberal imports) benefit women as much as men. Additional allocations to feed pregnant mothers or […]
Tax men more than women Read More »
Almost as soon as the Kyoto Protocol on global warming came into effect on February 15, Kashmir suffered the highest snowfall in three decades with over 150 killed, and Mumbai recorded the lowest temperature in 40 years. Had temperatures been
Global warming or global cooling? Read More »
Historically, global recession has followed when the price of oil crosses $ 30/barrel. But in 2004 the price crossed $ 50, and is still $ 48 today. Yet instead of suffering a recession the world economy skyrocketed by 5.3 %
Saved by the greenback tsunami Read More »
Energy has converted India\’s traditional foes into energy allies. India\’s GNP will grow at maybe 7 per cent annually in the next 20 years, in which case energy needs may quadruple. Energy security is now an urgent issue. This explains
Peace pipeline to China? Read More »
Will foreign institutional investors (FIIs) finance Indian government programmes on education, health and employment? Not a chance, you might think. Yet something of the sort is in the works. Chidambaram faces the classic dilemma (or trilemma) of finance ministers. He
Made for each other Read More »
The world\’s biggest capitalist get-together, the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, has started this week. Change is in the air. This is what the inaugural speech in 2035 will sound like. Ladies, gentlemen and transvestites
Get ready for Davos, 2035 Read More »
When Chou En-Lai, Mao\’s foreign minister, was asked what he thought of the French Revolution, he replied: \”It is too early to say.\” The French Revolution soon led to the Reign of Terror, in which the revolutionary Robespierre guillotined scores
Bush and Robespierre Read More »
The new year 2005 has opened on a note of high optimism. The Sensex has hit a record 6680, and the CSO has estimated GDP growth in the July-September quarter at 6.6%, following 7.4% in the preceding quarter. The latest
Boom or recession? Fifty-fifty Read More »
Every year, the Wall Street Journal and Heritage Foundation bring out a book called The Index of Economic Freedom, the centerpiece of which is an index ranking countries by the extent of freedom in 10 economic dimensions. Not all will
The many different paths to prosperity Read More »
On Wednesday, RBI governor YV Reddy spoke of capping or taxing purchases by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) on our stock markets. Finance Minister Chidambaram quickly denied any such policy change, and forced Reddy to retract. Some people fear that Reddy
It isn\’t hot money Read More »
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