-The Indian Express We must recognise and strengthen the diversity, dynamism, enterprise, and resilience of India’s agricultural markets. Last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman signalled the Union government’s intention to enact a new central law that would override existing state regulations that restrict the farmer from legally selling to anyone other than a buyer licensed by the local Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC). The decision to push for a central law comes...

-The Hindu The government has to garner resources and give a boost to the economy by increasing its investments The Centre and the States are so short of resources that their fiscal deficit is burgeoning. The Prime Minister, at a function of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India recently, was optimistic but the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor was less positive, admitting that the country’s economic problems are...

-The Hindu Uneven inflation and sluggish growth present serious dilemmas for policymakers Policymakers face a tricky dilemma as prices in the economy continue to rise even as economic growth has plummeted to well under 5%. Food inflation, now in double-digits, has caused significant pain. The International Monetary Fund on December 23 called for “urgent” policy measures to reverse the current slowdown that has weighed down global economic growth. The warning is timely...

-The Telegraph Without simultaneous steps to raise productivity, passive acceptance of lost competitiveness has shaped India's approach India’s last-minute withdrawal from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement has elicited much commentary. That it happened after exciting positive signals from senior government functionaries amidst vociferous opposition by noted lobby groups surprised all. A sizeable segment, however, backs the retreat, noting India’s current economic situation and low competitiveness to describe it as economic and...

-The Indian Express Government should explore all avenues to expand capital expenditures From a level of 8.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017-18, quarterly GDP growth fell to 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019-20, a fall of 3.1 percentage points. The slowdown of the Indian economy is no longer in dispute. Thankfully, the government has come out of denial mode. The critical question is: What should...