Recent amendments to the RBI Act have drawn expected flak. The criticism that a central bank is only a regulator, and not responsible for handling a crisis, is patently misplaced. Central banks have led the way for addressing banking sector crisis over time and across countries. The plausible fear is that these measures may draw…
There are few countries that are as entranced by gold as India. China recently overtook India as the largest consumer of gold. Turkey, like India, has been a gold consuming country with great success in monetising gold. In India, the introduction of the three gold monetisation schemes was the first step towards gold monetisation and…
The game plan of terrorists in Kashmir is crystal clear. They will terrorise the population into submission to their reprehensible programme of creating a Wahhabi society in the state. This should not be allowed at any cost. It will sound the death knell of Kashmiryat as we have known it and also perhaps of Jamhooriyat in the state for…
Once confined to specific corners of the world and largely ignored, the 21st century has seen a revival of populism in politics. But where is it headed? The rise of populism has been one of the broad political themes of the past decade. Till 2000, populism was confined to obscure corners of the world in…
Yogi Adityanath is apparently treating his maiden tenure as chief minister as being only of two years as he aims to deliver tangible results by 2019. The loan waiver for small and marginal farmers, the first decision taken by the new cabinet in UP under Yogi Adityanath, will benefit about 1.83 crore farming households, with…
India’s affinity for gold is a well-known fact, so is India’s dependence on gold imports to meet domestic demand. More than 98 percent of the gold consumed in the country is met through import while the rest is met through recycleddomestic gold. In 2015-16, India imported 926 tonnes of gold. Ironically, despite this huge appetite…
0N APRIL 11, finance minister Arun Jaitley informed the Rajya Sabha that ₹5,400 crore of undisclosed income had been detected since the November 8 announcement that demonetised 86 per cent of the currency in circulation. Critics will surely latch on to this rather measly figure to declare that demonetisation has palpably failed in expropriating owners…
Distance lends charm. I can vouch for this having spent a week away from Delhi, its alarming morning headlines and hyper competitive television anchors.India with its growing economy, social pluralism and thriving democracy appears far more attractive in Cardiff than from Delhi. I have not been accosted about our failing democracy or the rise of…
Even diehard optimists did not accept the electoral verdict of 11th March. BJP won an incredible 406 of the 690 seats on offer (or 59% of the total). Its footprint now extends from Manipur to Gujarat and from J&K to Andhra.It is now the pole around which Indian political economy will evolve in the foreseeable…
Back in 2014, realising the potential of domestic stock of gold in the country, the Government of India decided to introduce gold related schemes that would unlock the idle yellow metal lying in private lockers. With the dual objective of reducing import and recycling domestic gold, the Hon’ble Finance Minister of India introduced the gold-troika…
LARGE-SCALEemployment generation is critical for both Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s electoralprospects in 2019 and rejuvenation of the economy. Continued addition to the ranks of unemployed or underemployed will fuel resentment among the youth who had voted overwhelmingly for Modi in 2014. The PM’s charisma, integrity and current high popularity may not suffice for overcoming widespread…
Reforms like private sector involvement and optionality approach can make defence procurement and indigenisation viable and ensure India’s military superiority in the subcontinent. over the past three years, there has been a marked focus on implementing defence procurement reforms. Many are of the opinion that India’s focus on defence procurement reforms is unique. However, this…