Chief Justice N V Ramana has, astonishingly, waded into the controversy of political parties promising endless freebies that could plunge countries into disaster. He says political parties do not want to curb such excesses, so a specialised body should tackle […]
A fundamental problem of democracies: What constitutes good and bad freebies? Read More »
Last week, I congratulated the Supreme Court in the Mohammed Zubair case for castigating police misuse of procedures to penalise free speech. Alas, its verdict upholding the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) will encourage the very harassment it had
SC’s verdict on PMLA encourages harassment it had criticised Read More »
India is currently the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Hurrah. But the combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and states exceeds 10% of GDP, horrendously high by international standards. High fiscal deficits can spur high growth for some time, but then
A global recession will pose enormous fiscal challenges. India must be prepared Read More »
Democracies prize free speech and criticism of public figures. Even false criticism of public figures does not qualify as slander in the US and other countries unless accompanied by malice. This can be irksome to politicians. Former Tamil Nadu chief
Netas should not go overboard on defamation suits Read More »
There is not the slightest chance that the world has a hard landing and India does not. We are only 7% of the global economy; the idea that we will stand out is a fantasy to me,” says Swaminathan Aiyar,
Deeper US recession spells big trouble for India, says Swaminathan Aiyar Read More »
The storming of the presidential palace and ignominious flight of President Gotabay Rajapaksa from Sri Lanka was so dramatic that numerous theories were spun to explain away a routine economic bankruptcy. This arose from years of high fiscal deficits (government
The lesson from Lanka: Tighten your fiscal belt Read More »
Two months ago, I wrote in these columns of how commodity prices had shot up after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, but then receded considerably by mid-May. I said the good news was that inflation had probably peaked, while
Crashing food prices ease fears of starvation but not of a market crisis Read More »
In India, Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have escaped attention because MNCs do not publish separate balance sheets for offshore operations. However, Nasscom projects that by 2025 India could have 2,000 GCCs employing 2 million and generating $60 billion. De-globalisation has
India’s rise as GCC hub shows way forward Read More »
If there was a Supreme Court judgment that cried out for reversal, it would be the one on arresting human rights activist Teesta Setalvad and former police officer RB Sreekumar. The verdict has been castigated by hundreds of eminent persons
Teesta case: When did courts start demanding arrests? Read More »
Paul Samuelson once said wryly that economists had predicted nine of the last five recessions. In other words, they over-predicted at least half the time. Cynics will say that, in truth, economists would kill for even this level of accuracy.
Why US is no longer heading for a recession but is actually in a recession Read More »
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