A DELIBERATELY NON-DRAMATIC BUDGET
Mar 11th, 2005; Source: The Financial Express
This close to the Budget, it is hard to resist putting down one’s views on it. Great things were expected of this ‘dream team.’ The media, as is their wont, duly hyped the Budget, and expectations were sky high. Against this measure of public expectation, did the Budget disappoint? I fear the ...ReadMore
FOCUS ON GROWTH AND SECTORAL REFORMS
Feb 25th, 2005; Source: The Financial Express
The Budget is always an important time in the Indian economic calendar. It is hard to escape all the attention and hype that surrounds it. Housewives are solicited for their opinions, economists spout wisdom, tax experts spring forth and give nuanced positions, business people ask for tax cuts, the ...ReadMore
ENCOURAGE INDIANS TO SAVE MORE
Feb 11th, 2005; Source: The Financial Express
The India investment story is currently attracting significant interest from overseas investors. At a recent investor conference, over a third of the investors were first-timers, looking at allocating a part of their global pool of funds to India, while some of the old India hands had the “We’ve ...ReadMore
WE MUST REACT TO GLOBALISATION
Jan 28th, 2005; Source: The Financial Express
The curse of the columnist has finally struck! My fingers are frozen at the keyboard with nary a worthwhile topic in my head. As I cast my mind around at the fortnight’s happenings, nothing dramatic jumps out. Yes, sure, there are a number of topics which could be worth writing about were it not ...ReadMore
CAPITAL IDEAS ON FINANCING GROWTH
Jan 14th, 2005; Source: The Financial Express
Recently, we did a study on the likely financing needs of the Indian economy as a whole, and for the industrial sector. We worked backwards from an assumed target growth rate of 8% for the economy as a whole. The results were both interesting and disconcerting. At the outset, two points ne ...ReadMore
LOOKING BACK AT THE YEAR THAT WAS
Dec 31st, 2004; Source: The Financial Express
It is fashionable for writers to review the year gone by in their end-of-year columns. I will make no exception to this principle and will attempt my own modest review of some of the important themes of the year just passed. First and among the most defining events of the year would have t ...ReadMore
LET PRIVATE ENTERPRISE TAKE THE LEAD
Nov 5th, 2004; Source: The Financial Express
In my last column, I spoke on the need for an “in-the-trenches” mentality towards fostering further reforms in the Indian economy. This reflects the fact that the easier, or first phase, of mostly macro reforms are over and growth rates of 8% plus can only be engineered if more clusters, or sec ...ReadMore
WHY THE ELEPHANT WILL BE DANCING
Oct 22nd, 2004; Source: The Financial Express
This is intended to be the first in a series of articles in this paper. As a start, I thought I would put down my views on the current state of the Indian economy so that readers can filter my future views against this backdrop. Last year, the Indian economy grew in excess of 8%. Is this growth sust ...ReadMore
Jul 9th, 2004; Source: Business Standard
‘A Budget with a long-term vision’ would best describe the fine balancing act performed by the finance minister on Thursday. The minister has dared to dream about strengthening of the rural infrastructure and boosting agricultural growth, a trigger that is well placed to fuel activity ...ReadMore
Jun 28th, 2004; Source: Business Standard
A few events have taken place which imply that there could be significant changes in the interest rate and forex outlook in the next several months. First, the state of the global macro-economy has changed fundamentally. From being in an era of low global inflation and low interest rates, ...ReadMore