So high military spending is inevitable. But it is clear that peace is not possible without economic prosperity at home. It is also clear that projecting power abroad is not possible without high, sustained and inclusive economic growth. It is clear that a conflict free, relatively peaceful India will attract the maximum foreign capital in the…
Thanks to Ambedkar, India adopted modernity via an extremely enlightened constitution which is a living, throbbing document, open to amendments. But constitutional morality is not in our genes. It has to be cultivated as a habit. In our actions and administration; the spirit of the constitution must not be forgotten. This is but one of…
India is the world’s largest producer of milk, has the highest population of cattle, is among the top two or three producers of fruits and vegetables, and has one of the longest coastlines. How well does that translate into export of milk products, cheeses, confectionary, meat, poultry, fisheries, fruit juices, nutraceuticals, organic foods?…
The rise of India and China in the 21st century will surely challenge the hegemony of the dollar. India’s rise is benign, while China’s rise threatens the west. Their evolving bilateral relationship will surely shape world trajectory as well as affect the dollar’s dominance. But for now, the dollar is king
The Indian rupee is expected to depreciate due to strong dollar policies of the Trump administration compounded by a wider trade deficit in India. The worry about how to increase foreign direct investment will remain. It has been falling for several years. The outflow of capital as well as the flight of rich people to other countries is also a…
The share of workers in industry has stagnated for far too long. And so have wages. As per a report of WorkIndia, more than 57 percent of blue-collar jobs in India pay less than 20,000 rupees a month. That is probably justified because of low average productivity.
The LB scheme has been a successful formula which was used in Jharkhand as well and is part of at least a dozen other states which offer cash or kind benefits targeting women, It pays electoral dividends by increasing female voter participation. But what it does to the fiscal situation, and consequent drag on growth, inflation and interest…
After the Nirbhaya case in India, the laws were tightened against sexual violence. We also have stringent laws against child abuse. Yet the laws have not stopped reported sexual crimes from growing as the NCRB data shows.
How quickly a country which was coasting along for a decade of strong, export led growth with improvements in poverty as well as human development indicators and social capital, can crumble.
This also means unshackling the education sector, allowing greater freedom and autonomy to institutions of higher education in deciding curricula, courses, faculty hiring and salaries, student fees and programs. Otherwise, millions of our youth are wasting the prime years of their youth with a psychological burden, and grueling study with…
