The courts are hearing petitions against the government\’s expansion of schemes for which Aadhaar linkage is mandatory .Civil rights activists complain of privacy erosion, large-scale leakage of Aadhaar data, and violation of Supreme Court ar. Some fear, rightly , that […]
Big Brother? 100 Small Brothers are watching you Read More »
FRBM-2 has good ideas but isn\’t tough enough to enforce financial discipline The N K Singh Committee has suggested a new Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act to replace the old one. It has many eminently sensible proposals. Its
Still a Mental Fiscal Exercise Read More »
The latest solar power auction has yielded an electricity price of just Rs 3.15unit, down from Rs 5 two years ago. This seems competitive with coal-based thermal power. The government has raised its solar capacity target to 40GW by 2020
Dark side of solar success: It may kill thermal power, banks Read More »
Modi the economic developer has been upended by Modi the populist. The farm loan waiver and other measures announced in Uttar Pradesh last week amounted to an emphatic change in BJP . Given scarce government finances, the policy direction. Given
Loan waiver: Why shift to populism, Congress style? Read More »
Dear Narendra Modi, You swept to victory in the Uttar Pradesh election promising good governance and economic progress for all — “sabka saath, sabka vikas.” But Chief Minister Adityanath’s first act was to crack down on abattoirs and meat processors.
Mass closure of abattoirs will hit Muslims, Dalits, farmers Read More »
US President Donald Trump keeps getting tripped by checks & balances Will Donald Trump transform the US in his first 100 days through executive orders and new laws? Will he wreak protectionist, anti-immigrant and anti-minority havoc? Relax. The US Constitution
Donald, and Daffy, Show Read More »
Mayawati says rigged electronic voting machines (EVMs) caused her massive defeat in the UP election. The Election Commission says EVMs are tamper-proof. A new Brookings research study by Shamika Ravi, Sisir Debnath and Mudit Kapoor goes much further. It shows
Without EVMs, Maya may have got fewer votes Read More »
Narendra Modi should make Uttar Pradesh the engine of India\’s growth The last bastion of caste politics has come around and voted for economic development.“ Thus did Arvind Panagariya, head of Niti Aayog, sum up Narendra Modi\’s swe Aayog, sum
Now, Let UP Show the Day Read More »
It\’s often said that all politics is local. Voters in eastern Uttar Pradesh may not vote like those in other parts of this giant state. Yet a trip through eastern UP suggests such strong support for the BJP that it
Blowing in the wind: A Modi victory in UP Read More »
Tepid economic growth tarnishes Akhilesh Yadav\’s chances in Uttar Pradesh A million words have already been written analysing the coming state election in Ut tar Pradesh. Most analyses have been based on personal visits, interviews, anecdotes and caste arithmetic. This
Boom & Not-So-Boom Cycle Read More »
Sign up to get all the latest posts and news sent to your inbox.
