Shortly after the Gujarat state election, Swaminomics argued that Narendra Modi would not be able to make this a launching pad for the prime ministership. I need to qualify that judgement heavily after a recent tour of Madhya Pradesh and […]
There’s a Modi effect, but not a Modi wave Read More »
Most opinion polls predict a seriously hung Lok Sabha in 2014. A Third Front government, supported by either the BJP or Congress Party, looks very possible. This will be reminiscent of the Third Front government of 1996-98, a motley collection
Will Chamling become the Deve Gowda of 2014? Read More »
Back in 1991, India was the world’s greatest aid recipient, a patently uncompetitive giant begging for alms. Economic reforms from 1991 onwards gradually made India highly competitive, enabled it to touch 9% GDP growth, and to be called a potential
A nation that has forgotten about competing Read More »
A new global trading system is being erected, almost unnoticed in India. One of its unstated aims is to check China’s rise through economic discrimination. But it could end up discriminating against India too. Two major new international trade pacts
New global trade pacts may cut out India, China Read More »
During the period of fast economic growth in the 2000s, how did poor minorities fare? Some heartening answers have been provided in a Columbia University paper by Panagariya and More (Poverty by Social Religious and Economic groups in India and
Poverty falls fast for dalits and Muslims Read More »
For years I have demanded faster, stronger action against crooked politicians and businessmen. But I stand abashed after the CBI fiasco on the allotment of a coal block to the Birlas. The aim was to nab crooks. Instead the CBI
CBI needs skill, not just speed Read More »
Are stock markets irrational, driven by greed and fear, subject to euphoria and panic? Or are they highly efficient indicators of intrinsic value? Both, says the Nobel Prize Comittee for Economics, with no sense of contradiction. It has just awarded
Nobel Prize winners say markets are irrational, yet efficient Read More »
Narendra Modi’s rise owes much to his image as a decisive, efficient go-getter. A recent magazine poll showed 86% of new voters wanting an “authoritative and decisive” prime minister. They hate the corrupt bumbling and drift of the UPA government.
Obama shows why India must not seek a presidential system Read More »
After years of consideration, the government has come out with a disappointing shale gas policy. The public sector companies, ONGC and Oil India, will be allowed to drill for shale oil and gas in blocks they already have, but fresh
Time to get cracking on fracking Read More »
The rupee has bounced back, the stock market has soared, and finance minister Chidambaram is smiling again. This will not last, because there’s no clear strategy to remedy the economy’s structural weaknesses. One big structural problem is the creation of
Clearing projects is not the Cabinet’s job Read More »
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