I have long been allergic to mainline political parties. On election day, I typically go to the polling booth, look at the photos of candidates, and vote for the bestlooking independent. I did not vote this time because I was […]
Even in defeat, Aam Aadmi Party still matters Read More »
A key reason why India’s economic growth has halved from 9% to 4.5% per year is that, in search of inclusive growth, the courts and legislatures have increasingly made legitimate business difficult. It now takes 12 years to open a
Well-intentioned laws, courts cripple growth Read More »
All my life I have opposed nuclear bombs. I have argued that such bombs are basically unusable; that, instead of ensuring security, they risk escalation of small conflicts into disasters; and that they lead to undesirable macho foreign policies. Most
Disarmament is for wimps. Go get your nukes if you can Read More »
Does Narendra Modi actually have a great Gujarat model, or just wellpackaged hype? Critics say that Gujarat has grown fast, but some others have grown faster. The Raghuram Rajan Committee on development indicators says Gujarat’s social indicators are just middling.
Gujarat is India’s top state in economic freedom Read More »
Collapsing economic growth, high inflation and corruption explain why the Congress is heading for its worst defeat ever. GDP growth averaged 9% for much of UPA rule, but has halved to 4.5% in its final two years, crushing incomes and
UPA’s 10-year averages are just statistical spin Read More »
Last week, I wrote on how not to catch corporate and political crooks. Readers naturally asked, what is the right way? Some analysts say India has only 1.3 policemen per 1,000 citizens against 2.5 in the US, 5.3 in Turkey
To catch a crook: Three lessons from the Rajaratnam case Read More »
The Supreme Court seeks to ensure a strong, independent Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to check corruption. Sadly, the CBI is using this enhanced power to pursue frivolous charges against honourable officials. This simply demoralizes and paralyses the bureaucracy, without
CBI follies: This is no way to check crony capitalism Read More »
Has Modi fired up the stock markets? The Sensex has leaped up from 18,000 last August to almost 22,000. Many analysts say another bull run has begun. The markets think Modi is almost certain to come to power in May,
Modi euphoria on Sensex? Voters are selling, foreigners buying Read More »
Politicians make policy, bureaucrats implement them. Trust and harmony between the two can produce amazing results. If trust and harmony decline, so do decision-making and economic performance. Bureaucrats can function brilliantly if they get clear signals from their political bosses,
Why babuji goes too slow Read More »
When the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was created in 1995, critics protested that India must not join this vehicle of US imperialism, whose tough patent rules would ruin India’s agriculture and pharmaceutical industry. They could not have been more wrong.
WTO becomes India’s protector, not predator Read More »
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