Tribals are the poorest, most oppressed community. Maoists say revolution is the only way forward for them. That’s dead wrong. Last month I visited Dediapada taluka, Gujarat. Every tribal village there has tractors, hundreds of villagers have motorcycles, and the […]
Gujarat tribals turn bamboo plantation owners Read More »
Oil has crashed from $110 a barrel to $28 a barrel, and could fall to $20 a barrel. Many other commodity prices have crashed. What is happening, and why? Oil supply has shot up even as demand has slowed. Non-Opec
India must prepare for a recession Read More »
An avalanche of dollars exiting China threatens to smother all emerging markets (EMs), including India, and cause a global recession. Almost $ 600 billion have exited China in the last six months, a mammoth $100 billion per month.This would have
China’s avalanche stokes fears of global recession Read More »
I am Charlie. I am for free speech, even if it offends somebody. Indeed, free speech must necessarily offend somebody: speech that offends nobody can only be highly circumscribed. Obviously, free speech can be curtailed if it calls for violence
Stand up for free speech, in memory of Charlie Hebdo Read More »
Indian business has long been represented by Ficci (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry). The new kid on the block is Dicci – the Dalit Industrial Chambers of Commerce and Industry. It boasts of nearly 4,000 members, heralding
Rahul Gandhi is losing BR Ambedkar’s legacy to Narendra Modi Read More »
The Mid-Year Economic Analysis of the finance ministry, prepared by chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian, is controversial. It asks whether India should depart from its promised path of fiscal consolidation, which calls for the fiscal deficit to fall by another
Mixing morality and taxation typically produces hypocrisy. The Subramanian Committee on the goods and services tax has proposed an ultra-high rate of 40 per cent for sinful goods, against the standard rate of 17-18 per cent. Naturally, the sin list
Tax sugarcane farmers, not sugary drinks Read More »
The era of superpower hegemony is over, and that of non-state actors has arrived. Fourteen years after 9/11, the US has — let’s be blunt — been repeatedly defeated by radical Islam. Look at Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, or
Non-state actors have upstaged the superpowers Read More »
Earlier this year, I expressed worries that India was galloping ahead with solar power when experts predicted that solar panel costs would plummet. Why not wait till costs crashed? One solar enthusiast told me the crash in costs had already
Will cut-throat competition leading to the Winner’s Curse hit solar power? Read More »
I am amazed when people ask me why food prices, notably that of dal, have gone up. India has just suffered two consecutive droughts. The question to be asked is why, after a disastrous monsoon, food prices have risen so
Monsoon-proofed India shrugs off twin droughts Read More »
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