The Times of India

Crude oil costs $135/barrel globally, but Indian prices of petroleum products have long been linked to barely $60/barrel. This has meant under-recoveries — explicit and implicit subsidies to consumers — of a whopping Rs 2,45,000 crore. So, the government has […]

The report of the Commission on Growth and Economic Development, headed by Nobel Laureate Michael Spence, gleans lessons from 13 countries that averaged 7% economic growth for more than 25 years. India crossed 7% only recently, but most people assume

Oil hit a record $135/barrel last week, up from $51/barrel in January 2007. Taking a longer four-year perspective, the price of the crude is up 230%, but Indian petrol is up only 35%, diesel 46%, and kerosene not at all!

Indians are outraged by President Bush\’s claim that rising food consumption in India and China have sent world food prices skyrocketing. When incomes rise, people eat more meat, so more grain is fed to animals. Seven tonnes of grain produce

Last week, I showed that spending $50 billion on dams and canals in the 11th Plan would be a waste. Surface irrigation provides water in quantities and at times fixed by the irrigation authorities. This is useless for farmers growing

Ostensibly to help farmers, the 11th five-year Plan allocates nearly $50 billion to surface irrigation (dam reservoirs, tanks and canals). This will be a huge waste of money on obsolete, ineffective irrigation concepts dating from the 19th century, says irrigation

Which of the three candidates for the US Presidency — Hilary Clinton, Barak Obama, and John McCain — will be best for India? Most Indians would opt for Obama or Clinton. But from a policy viewpoint, McCain would be best

Terrified that surging food prices will cause it to lose the coming state elections, the government has come out with an anti-inflation package banning most agricultural exports and slashing import duties on edible oil. Yet the biggest anti-inflation measure is

How serious is corruption in India, and how great an obstacle to fast growth? Most people would say corruption is very high and a serious obstacle to the 10% growth now sought by politicians. A joint study by CMS and

When inflation accelerates, as is the case today, governments across the globe tend to panic and rush out with anti-inflationary packages. The trouble is that governmental panic itself has become a new cause of further inflation. That is why inflation