The year is ending with Trump doing a whistle-stop tour of several Asian countries – Southeast Asian and East Asian this time – signing several trade agreements along the way. Of course, the highlight at the ASEAN conference in Malaysia was the peace agreement between Cambodia and Thailand, one of Trump’s many showpiece peace treaties… Continue reading Asia Becoming Theatre of US-China Competition
What a huge fuss has been kicked up over Bihar’s 2025 assembly elections! This, when there was no new candidate, no major new party contesting the elections and so any big surprise or wild card was ruled out. Some might argue that Prashant Kishore’s Jan Suraj party was the big surprise element in this election,… Continue reading When Economic Policies Are Made on The Campaign Trail
While reading Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and The Making of Modern Asia which my aged father gave me for my birthday this year, I was thinking that this is a book for international readers since the history of India’s partitions has been told many times. But through the first chapter itself, I was surprised to… Continue reading Shattered Lands Surprises, Though Not Pleasantly
It’s almost 20 years since I left New Delhi for my aged parents’ home in Chicalim, Vasco, Goa in October 2008. When I watch scenes of the smog-filled air in Delhi-NCR play out on English news channels at this time of the year, year after year, I count myself lucky to not be living or… Continue reading Time Indian Cities Promoted Metro Rail Travel
Sounds like a crazy statement to make about the world’s largest trading bloc, comprising 400 million people, you may think. But not if you consider the EU’s own aspirations and ambitions, captured in Mario Draghi’s voluminous report. The EU’s own predicament faced with the raging Ukranian conflict with Russia on the one hand, and with… Continue reading The EU Needs to Look Beyond Trade for Growth
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
It was too good to be true. China’s economic growth powered by its exports sector delivered annual rates of real growth between 10% and 14% for years together in the 1980s and 1990s. Something the world watched with awe and admiration, as the Middle Kingdom surged to become the world’s second largest economy in GDP… Continue reading Are the Chickens of China’s State Capitalism Coming Home to Roost?
What a remarkable turn of events in the Middle East this past week. From constant shelling and the killing of innocent civilians – many even as they lined up for food – to the cessation of hostilities and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. So far, so good. At least as far as… Continue reading A Peace Plan That Leaves the Palestinian State for The End
It was long overdue. In fact, GST should have been launched in 2017 with no more than a couple of slabs. Ideally, it should have been just one at 18%. But in a country like ours where most of the population can barely afford even the daily essentials, perhaps a rate of 5% on some… Continue reading How Car Companies Should Make the Most of GST Rationalisation
The Indian economy is growing at a reasonably rapid pace, though nowhere near the 8%-9% growth recorded in the early and mid-2000s. Still, considering the two huge shocks the world economy has faced in the past two decades – the 2008 Financial Crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic – we have to say that India has… Continue reading It is Time to Build Brand India
Peripatetic Perch 