Economics & Development

We need a proactive policy effort based on post-pandemic realities of the country’s economic potential

Covid-19 is probably one of the topics about which more has been written and spoken than perhaps any other subject in the last several months. The subject itself would be suffering from some kind of “author’s fatigue.” Content wise, the articles have little more to say than perhaps reflecting philosophically or administratively on certain categories, policies or more. All this is a part of life and several media fora flourish on this. So be it!

On May 25, in a write-up titled Impenetrable Barriers in these columns, a description had been put forth on the logic and birth of the concept of the National Capital Region (NCR). It pointed out how an over-anxious administrative zeal on the part of some in the affected NCR States had created impenetrable boundaries, barricaded with permits. For weeks, misguided zeal, an ill-informed search for solutions and an urge for seeking applause had created a state of competitive “statism.” Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi took turns to make the life of average law-abiding citizens hapless, forcing them to try and build bridges in an attempt to integrate divided lives across […]

The absence of credible research for sustainable conclusions before being put out in the public domain can have its risks

Some day, when this pandemic is over and the world begins to heal from the Coronavirus’ impact on the health and global economy, some researcher might seek to do a content analysis of the newspapers, magazines and journals being published in India and around the world. S/he might decide to discover the themes which captured the imagination of the world and received the maximum coverage at the end of 2019 and in 2020. Predictably, Covid-19 will dominate the word count, progressively rising from a limited percentage in December 2019 to almost a crescendo by mid-2020 and beyond. Every other theme in the world would have been edged out, almost as if nothing else existed during this period. The statistical tool box will be open and graphing, scaling, analysis by percentage and analysis by regions and much more, will follow.

However, there will be very little data available on how many people actually suffered due to the lack of adequate medical care because of an overwhelming preponderance of the Covid-19 theme. There will be negligible data available on people who suffered mental agony […]

It is nobody’s case that danger is not there. It is a question of an intelligent understanding of disaster as it is possible to face it sensibly

Periodically there are events which capture the people’s mind and imagination because they are so unusual. Recall the global frenzy at the beginning of 21st century? The midnight of December 31, 1999 and January 1, 2000 were supposed to be epoch-making. However, any student of geography knows that there is no such thing as a century changing. The planet Earth rotates around its own axis and around the sun. The flashpoint of December 31, 1999 changing to January 1, 2000 would be at different points of the globe at different times of the same day. For the purposes of enabling “measurement of time”, the Earth is divided into longitudes. This measurement begins at a given longitude in the Pacific Ocean region. The rest of the measurement of time follows. The marking of the longitude is notional and the time taken by the Earth to rotate fully, once, around its axis is taken to be “24 hours.”

Because of this innovation, calendars could be created and seasons marked by months. This collection of months became a […]

The world has progressed exponentially but the way forward is to select carefully from the creative method that applies to one’s context

The world progresses because it has pioneers. To be deemed a pioneer, a person must be able to do something which was never quite done before. It may be a discovery, creation or developing an insight. Illustratively, the Wright Brothers were pioneers when they built the world’s first practical fixed-wing aircraft. They were pioneers in making the first powered, controlled and sustained flight over 100 years ago. Every pioneering activity tries to negotiate the unknown. Path-breakers create opportunities to discover, explore, improve and basically deal with harnessing possibilities. There are some institutions born with a pioneering and innovative belief and the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) is one of them. It is rooted in the understanding that much of the forest produce has yet to be completely discovered and fully harvested. Often, even when people have gathered or “discovered” forest produces, they do not know how to convert them into progressively more worthwhile products. By adding value to the produce, by eliminating some of its attributes or adding new elements, it becomes more useful and meets […]

The overarching dominance of the Planning Commission and then the NITI Aayog have blurred the focus on regional development

The change in nature of markets has created several universes within its fold, so as to almost require an interpreter to talk from one segment to another. Yet in a country like India, all marketing instrumentalities, from hawking to internet communication, seem relevant. Their pertinence in the social segment in which they operate determines the robustness of that economy. Each segment has its own significance and it determines to a large extent the prosperity of the region where it operates. This economic growth is central to the community’s welfare because livelihoods depend on that. However, there remains a catch-22 situation as each marketing method in a socio-economic segment can and does evolve. Leaving it frozen at a given level is unwise for the overall well-being of that division. Nature, being what it is, will induce change and its own evolution does not need a policy decision. But this progression may be slow and may be excluding migrant segments of that given economic division from returning to it for their livelihood and with a level of comfort. Thus it is that remaining migrant groups […]

Perhaps one day, management experts will wake up to the sorry state of affairs and the despicable conditions of those involved in crystal mining

Business is fickle because, like the rising sun, an emerging success is always welcomed and the declining sun is ever-abjured. At the end of the day, there is a lot of jostling to continue to be successful and brand oneself as such. There are instances in post-Independence India where a public system was rapaciously ransacked by voracious and cunning individuals to get an initial breakthrough in the circle of wealth. Interpretation has it that in the most successful of such ravaging for years, nothing was unknown. What was happening was almost in the knowledge of those who cared to know. Even the so-called culprits were known. But no one was really booked because if you booked one of the key functionaries, he/she knew too much. Once they spilt the beans it would cause convulsions in the close circles and nobody knew who would be affected. So at the end of the day, a new business house was born and some flourishing careers in the corporate and governance circles were re-enforced. A few of the vulnerable known to […]

This economic downturn is manageable and reversible. However, before any corrective measure can be taken, it has to be diagnosed 

It is obvious that the Indian economy is not in the pink of health. Despite all efforts, the present dispensation at the helm of affairs is failing to pull it out of the nosedive it has taken. And like it often happens once things start going haywire, debate or controversy is generated on the intention of the specialists. Those providing data to people are accused of distortions and worse. By definition, a lot of these debates remain unresolved because it doesn’t suit anyone to resolve them.

The latest beneficiary of such controversies is the electronic media. In the evenings one witnesses competitive bidding by channels for picking up, sometimes, almost a silly topic of the day and identifying a few people who are qualified for nothing better than high-pitched, theatrical argumentation. It suits the anchor to appear to pacify the participants by counselling patience and advising appropriate behaviour. There is another breed of anchors also, which in an almost free-for-all, indulges in high-pitched attention-seeking to drown the voices of the quarreling guests.

Hence, perversity is institutionalised and becomes a revenue stream. This is […]

The first-ever UN Youth Climate Summit is now over. Will the self-proclaimed masters of the world at least attempt a global climate plan?

September 24 has come and gone without the most ardent of climate activists recognising in any significant manner that they had no views on the Youth Climate Summit at the United Nations (UN). The three-day-long United Nations Climate Action Summit culminated on September 23 and thousands of young people also marched and rallied for urgent corrective action.

The Youth Climate Summit was the first time that the UN got involved with a generational issue. The debate was not just about development, equity or climate change, it was and remains about something much deeper. It continues to deal with paradigms of human welfare, development and one could add, happiness.

The global leaders of so-called significant economies meet ever so often in different exotic locations to discuss issues which they consider grim. What these dialogues achieve is a well-kept secret because the statements post these events are full of claptrap, self-approving, ambiguous and trite phrases. No country seems to be keen to reduce its own carbon emission. The stronger ones urge the weaker ones (who depend upon them for economic support) to behave […]

It’s time to prepare for the future before the nature of raw materials and inputs changes so drastically that a new civilisational order is required

There comes a time in management of knowledge when phrases become clichés and are repeated ad nauseam, without many pausing to think about their meaning or significance. One such phrase is “The world is changing.”

What is often not clear is what is changing, by how much and in which direction? Unfortunately though, this does not even bother people sufficiently for them to pause. This is also true about the watershed times that we live in. Fossil fuel is now nearly passé. Hydrocarbon-based energy, to move vehicles and generate heat, is given a lease by the most optimistic of forecasters of not more than 30 to 40 years. The rest of the debate is known too well to bear recount.

Yet, there are obvious aspects which never figure in the debate. The overall consumption would indeed go down if the population was to remain a constant. The reduction in the quantum of the demand of the existing population is more than made up by the rise in demand from the population which is subsequently added. To bridge the […]

Mergers and recapitalisation of public sector banks are no guarantee of success but we don’t seem to learn from past experiences

Any person dealing with conflict management issues would agree that treating the symptoms seldom cures the cause. The symptoms are often a manifestation of the context, the personalities at play and the immediate trigger. However, the causes continue to fester. This led to a major observation made decades ago on conflict management that if two people cannot agree on something, check the assumptions. After all, logic is often found to support what one already believes to be true.  Before this write-up turns into an exploration of inter-personal dynamics, it is important to realise that the above references are just a bid to answer some of the more basic questions regarding organisations and the economy.

The private sector vs public sector debate has been running in India for decades. Whenever there is a public outcry against privately-run firms, the oft-heard refrain is “nationalise them.” When the trouble is with public sector undertakings (PSUs) the quick solution offered is “privatise them.” Empirical evidence has it that neither of the two has ever solved the basic ailment. The problem remains and the misery continues, […]