The current crisis in West Asia offers us a window. In a world where oil routes can be disrupted overnight by wars India did not start, energy independence becomes a sovereign necessity. Every gigawatt of solar power installed is one step away from the Strait of Hormuz. Every electric vehicle on the road is a barrel of oil India does not have…
A democracy that is cutting down forests for votes risks mortgaging its ecological future for an electoral present. Welfare is essential; appeasement is corrosive. The difference lies in fiscal discipline, transparency and respect for citizens, who are not beneficiaries, but are owners of the republic. If we do not draw that line now, next year…
A nation aspiring to be “Viksit Bharat” by 2047 should be expanding the scope of social citizenship and social security, not shrinking it. Reforming MNREGA was both necessary and desirable. Replacing a justiciable right with a discretionary scheme is neither reform nor progress. It is a constitutional, economic and moral step backward.
IndiGo’s meltdown, telecom’s flip-flop policy history, the fragility of airport PPPs, the helplessness of education regulators—all point to one truth: India’s regulatory state is not yet strong enough to discipline the giants it has created, nor can they rein in monopolies. Until regulators regain independence, authority, and credibility, India…
What needs to be done is as follows. Firstly, restore the public-interest override and RTI balance must be returned. Privacy does matter, but corruption, abuse of State power, and public finance accountability matter more. Secondly, we must reinstate the proviso that information that cannot be denied to Parliament cannot be denied to any…
The combined effects of teacher shortages, contractualisation, and parallel schooling are devastating for India’s long-term competitiveness. It leads to poor learning outcomes, misaligned workforce skills…
India chose to draw the line on three things. Firstly, no liberal access to agriculture and dairy market in the country. This is especially for maize, corn, soyabean and dairy produced from cattle fed with animal protein. Secondly, no access for genetically modified crops or agriculture products. Thirdly no import of ethanol for fuel purposes…
India will soon need to focus on reducing relative poverty and inequality too since the spoils of high economic growth cannot be cornered by a small few at the top. The elimination of extreme poverty in the next five years is a good shot in the arm, but in the journey toward a developed nation India has much work to do.
The first “I” of the World Bank stands for investment, which India must increase to 40 percent of GDP. It must also increase labour force participation of women from 35 to 50 percent. The second “I” refers to infusion of new technologies, by linking with global value chains, by trade agreements, and reducing tariffs and barriers to foreign…
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…
