Manmohan Singh told me ‘detachment to power’ and ‘attachment to reform’

Economic reform in a developing country like India is primarily about relinquishing control by the government. Modi govt loves control...

The job crunch and the growing fires of nativism

Unless States in India have the autonomy to create jobs, they will only resort to reserving existing jobs for locals...

From Modi To Sitharaman, The Total About-Turn On MNREGA

In February 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a speech in Parliament, ridiculed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)...

Jobs, Exports & the Trade Pacts link – coauthored with P Chidambaram

India needs to shed its exaggerated fears of trade agreements to create new jobs — the country’s biggest challenge...

TRPs, Surveys, And Polls: The Sample Size Enigma

The U.S. Presidential election has brought the issue of surveys and polling back to the fore. Polling is dead because they have been spectacularly wrong, seems to be the emerging consensus...

Why So Few Indians Pay Income Tax

Very few Indians pay income taxes. So, millions of them evade taxes and hide their incomes is the popular notion...

The myth of India’s low income tax base

Given India’s GDP and per capita income data, and the tax threshold, its taxpayer base is right...

Rebuild India’s confidence, revive the economy – with Dr.Manmohan Singh

The path to a sustained recovery is to improve sentiments in society, using economic tools...

Economy Down, Stock Market Up; Why This Dissonance?

India imposed a total and extreme lockdown to fight the Covid-19 epidemic. It was among the harshest and the longest in the world...