-TheWire.in The most blatant example of ecological illiteracy in the name of ‘self-reliance’ is that of coal mining – a sector which is being opened up in parts of central India which were hitherto off-limits. For a government that is tom-tomming its environmental record across the globe, it is interesting that nature, ecology and environment are almost totally absent from the Indian government’s COVID-19 recovery or stimulus package labelled ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant...
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An agriculture-led revival as flawed claim -R Ramakumar
-The Hindu The crisis in agriculture demands that the government announce a strong fiscal stimulus for the rural economy A rather confident statement heard in the midst of India’s COVID-19-induced economic slowdown is this: “Agriculture will lead India’s economic revival”. But how valid is this claim put forward by government spokespersons and some observers? Four major arguments are offered. First, India’s food grain production in 2019-20 was 3.7% higher than in 2018-19. The...
More »The COVID-19 fiscal response and India’s standing -Amit Basole and Jonathan Coutinho
-The Hindu The relief measures do not seem to be commensurate with the economic disruption caused by the lockdown How does India compare in the quantity and quality of its COVID-19 response to other developing countries? Here we extend our earlier analysis of India’s fiscal response (The Hindu online, “India must enhance fiscal support for COVID-19 relief and rebuilding”, April 18, 2020) drawing on the International Monetary Fund Policy Tracker, the COVID-19...
More »Vivek Kaul, columnist on economics and business and author of 'Bad Money: Inside the NPA Mess and How it Threatens the Banking System', interviewed by Rohan Venkataramakrishnan (Scroll.in)
-Scroll.in The author of ‘Bad Money: Inside the NPA Mess and How It Threatens the Banking System’ speaks about Atmanirbhar Bharat and what the media gets wrong. Vivek Kaul is the author of the Easy Money trilogy of books on the history of banking and money and, most recently, of Bad Money: Inside the NPA Mess and How it Threatens the Banking System. In lucid prose, Kaul draws out the history of...
More »How India Can Leverage Surplus Food Grain to Expand PDS Without Sacrificing Fiscal Prudence -Siraj Hussain and Jugal Mohapatra
-TheWire.in After Modi's decision to extend additional allocation of food grains under PMGKY until November, there are now three scenarios that can play out. On June 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the country, announced that the additional allocation of food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKY) will be made available till November. This means that from April to November 2020, 71.17 crore people – classified...
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