-The Hindu * What has the RBI cautioned about GDP decline amid the pandemic, and what lies ahead? The story so far: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest monthly bulletin features an article by an official at its Monetary Policy Department titled ‘An Economic Activity Index for India’, where the author has, in a ‘nowcast’ (a forecast that estimates the outcome of a near-term event), projected that India’s GDP (Gross Domestic...
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Explained: What is a technical recession? -Udit Misra
-The Indian Express Latest RBI bulletin projects contraction for a second consecutive quarter, which means the economy is in a ‘technical recession’. What does it mean, and how is it different from a ‘recession’ and a ‘recessionary phase’? In its latest monthly bulletin — for November — the Reserve Bank of India has dedicated a chapter on the “State of the economy”. The idea is to provide a monthly snapshot of some...
More »A normalisation of WFH is unlikely to raise women’s participation in the labour force -Ashwini Deshpande
-The Indian Express Work from home, without lessening domestic burden and an increase in paid work, is unlikely to draw more women into the labour force. Is the COVID-19 pandemic unwittingly turning the tide on the sticky issue of the low labour force participation (LFP) of Indian women that decades of policy and research efforts have been trying to achieve without success? A recent report from LinkedIn suggested that Indian women increased their...
More »Briefing Note for Parliamentarians on Labour Law Reforms
-Press release by Working Peoples' Charter dated 21st September, 2020 Amidst the micro and macro-economic crisis of the last 5 years, the union government has aggressively pushed the agenda of labour law reforms -- purportedly to simplify India’s ‘complex’ labour legislations, improve the business environment, and augment growth and employment. These changes, driven primarily by the business fraternity, have been aimed at improving India’s ranking in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’...
More »India should opt for income support so that pandemic does not turn into a financial crisis -Jahangir Aziz
-The Indian Express What is needed is ample income support for households and firms now so that the recovery is not hamstrung by excessively damaged balance sheets Even a cursory reading of Brazil’s recent history will confirm that the adoption of the all-encompassing cap on government spending in late 2016 was critical in rescuing the economy from the crisis of 2014-16. After riding the commodity boom of the 2000s, economic mismanagement and a...
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