Shashi Tharoor, Rhea Chakraborty and now Arnab Goswami. The social and electronic media are baying for their blood, accusing them of driving somebody — wife, lover, and creditor respectively — to suicide. As argued in earlier columns, this is moral […]

I stand with French President Emmanuel Macron in declaring that free speech includes the right to offend. Those offended are welcome to protest peacefully, but not to gag or kill the offenders. In France, a Christian teacher was assassinated by

I am among those favouring regulation of the internet giants — Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft — because of their humungous control of viewers’ data (raising issues of privacy and national security) and unintended role in spreading falsehoods and

Why has India funked a big fiscal stimulus to stimulate the economy? The answer must be mainly political. The Prime Minister’s Office is clearly the driving force behind India’s fiscal conservatism. Most likely, the PMO fears that a fiscal spending

The worst is over. Covid infections and deaths seem to have peaked, though it remains to be seen if India escapes the resurgence of the virus seen in many countries as winter approaches. India’s lockdowns are being eased and some

Most countries worry about a current account deficit (the trade deficit in goods plus services). A big current account deficit implies borrowing from abroad to finance your economy. In excess, that can end in bankruptcy (as in India in 1991).