Desperately Seeking Growth Budget

Once again it is time for me to react to the Indian Union Budget, and given all the pre-budget media hype around it on television news of a possible tax relief for the middle-class, I should have expected what we finally got to hear on February 1, 2025. I knew it would once again be… Continue reading Desperately Seeking Growth Budget

Caste, Revdis and Sloganeering Once Again

Four of India’s states have just concluded their assembly elections in two instalments when they should have been held together in one shot. Besides the schedule reeking of unprofessional PR agency idiot bosses’ meddling and colluding with the central government, the media reporting too suffers from the same interference. Coming soon after the general elections… Continue reading Caste, Revdis and Sloganeering Once Again

Reading the Slo-Mo Global Economy

We’re into the last quarter of 2024, the year of anticipated slowdown in the global economy. While we’re still awaiting the September quarter GDP growth figures for major economies around the world, it might be safe to say that the worst has been averted. That there isn’t a recession waiting around the corner. A few… Continue reading Reading the Slo-Mo Global Economy

World’s Most Populous Country or World’s Largest Market?

You could say both of the Indian economy and you would be right. We are not merely the fastest growing major economy, we are also the most populous nation now, as the Financial Times recently reported. They said India is likely to overtake China as the world’s most populous nation sometime this month, or at… Continue reading World’s Most Populous Country or World’s Largest Market?

Elections in the Midst of a Pandemic

In my last blog post on India, I had written about the three Es that we will have to watch out for in 2022. This article is on the first E: elections, with those on the economy and on engineering economic reforms following in subsequent months. The Omicron variant has set off the third wave… Continue reading Elections in the Midst of a Pandemic

The Global Economy In a SWOT, Wot?

As countries report their September 2021 quarter GDP growth rates, the world will be eagerly watching to read and parse the news and data. So far, China has reported a much lower than expected GDP growth at 4.9% over the previous year. I am not sure how much of that is due to the government’s… Continue reading The Global Economy In a SWOT, Wot?

Ovid in the Time of Covid: The Healing Touch

Just when we thought that vaccines had the Covid-19 pandemic under control, at least in western countries, the Delta variant threatens to derail whatever progress was made. In India too, as well as in South-East Asia, the pandemic continues to rage, with not much improvement in daily new cases. At a time like this, we… Continue reading Ovid in the Time of Covid: The Healing Touch

Road to Economic Recovery and Obstacles Ahead

It’s a year and a half since Covid-19 made its appearance in China and went on to ravage the world with amazing speed and virulence. China managed to control it effectively since they locked down Wuhan completely and prevented the spread of the virus while the infected were being treated. Other countries managed to control… Continue reading Road to Economic Recovery and Obstacles Ahead

Self-Reliance in a Covid Economy: Owl Wisdom Podcast

Hello and welcome to what is certainly my last Owl Wisdom Podcast of 2020. It might be a while before I share another Owl Wisdom Podcast, because I have exhausted the three hours of podcast time that I am allowed on a free SoundCloud account. I had planned at the outset a year ago, for… Continue reading Self-Reliance in a Covid Economy: Owl Wisdom Podcast

Hayek vs Keynes in a Pandemic Struck World

Here we are then, nine months into a pandemic and we seem to have gotten used to seeing the number of cases and the deaths roll up, like on a gas-filling machine. Over 31 million covid cases worldwide and just under a million deaths seem to have made us impervious to the dangers of the… Continue reading Hayek vs Keynes in a Pandemic Struck World