Both Mumbai and Telangana may have been hacked by China, causing electric blackouts. The power minister denies a Chinese hand. But a US company, Recorded Future, claimed that Chinese hackers had targeted 10 entities of India’s power grid plus two […]
Toolkits? We need to worry about Chinese hackers Read More »
The government is reportedly very keen on a vehicle scrappage policy, making it mandatory for old vehicles to be scrapped or giving subsidies for voluntary scrappage. One aim is to increase the demand for new cars, boosting the auto industry
It makes sense to export, not scrap old cars Read More »
Hilariously, climate activist Greta Thunberg supports India’s farmer agitation. The farmers demand government guarantees for a farming system that is environmentally ruinous and emits colossal carbon. The government’s appropriate response to Thunberg should be “how dare you!” Instead, the government
Indian response is as comic as Greta’s follies Read More »
India aims to copy China in what economists call “industrial policy”. The budget allocated Rs 2 trillion over five years to 13 industrial sectors through a production linked incentive (PLI) of 4-6% of production. This approach began earlier with tariff
India isn’t China, so don’t copy its industrial policy Read More »
The Budget speech announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs). While politicians have often talked of selling losing public sector undertakings, PSBs were long taboo. They account for two-thirds of all bank credit, but have lost enormous sums
Sell the best public sector banks; bids can be foreign Read More »
Covid has hammered the poor, yet stock markets have boomed. Massive printing of money by central banks has flooded the world, sending all stock markets soaring. The wealthiest have become wealthier. Some analysts say, let us impose a Covid tax
A Covid tax on the rich will hurt wealth creation Read More »
RBI predicts a disastrous GDP fall of 7.5%, yet the stock market has soared. The Sensex crossed 50,000 last week, up from 40,000 a year ago. Is this a bubble about to burst? Yes, it is a bubble. But it
Sensex: Yes, it’s a bubble but it will not burst so soon Read More »
Many economists are urging a major fiscal stimulus in the coming budget of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to deal with the continuing effects of Covid. This would be a mistake. The biggest drag on the economy today is fear of
Free vaccinations will be better than a stimulus Read More »
The Covid pandemic will change the world permanently in many ways. Most obviously, people will increasingly work from home. Workplaces will not disappear, but an increasing share of work will be done at home. This will save employers office space
Will work-from-home give a boost to female employment? Read More »
Arguably, the most-hated industry in the world is the pharmaceutical industry. Since dying people will pay anything, the normal price resistance of consumers disappears. So, profit margins for new patented drugs can be humongous. When anti-AIDS drug cocktails were invented
Big Pharma has reinforced its saviour image Read More »
Sign up to get all the latest posts and news sent to your inbox.
