The COVID-19 pandemic is increasing inequality globally and even advanced economies have not been spared. Before the pandemic began in 2020, inequality was on the rise. Decades of globalization, loose monetary policy and the rise of oligopolies have contributed to this phenomenon. In many ways,...
India has come a long way since its independence from colonial rule in 1947. It started as a mixed economy where elements of both capitalism and socialism coexisted uneasily. Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, was a self-declared Fabian socialist who admired the Soviet Union. His...
US President Donald Trump had already taken a sledgehammer to the export-led growth model. With the COVID-19 pandemic rousing primal passions, hitherto unfashionable ideas are emerging like Dracula from their grave. Protecting infant industries to improve future competitive advantage or strategic...
India needs to introspect as to why it has fared so miserably when it comes to being happy. The UN's 2019 World Happiness Report released in March shows that India is on a declining trend when it comes to happiness. The county ranked 117 in 2015, 118 in 2016, 122 in 2017, 133 in 2018 and is now...
It is not just the vagaries of nature that push the farmers toward desperate measures — apathy from the government toward the agriculture sector had undermined its fragile economy. In June 2017, holding the skulls and bones of who he claims are farmers who had committed suicide, P. Ayyakannu,...
American economic policies are causing the rupee to fall, but India’s fast-approaching elections might make its economic situation worse. On August 26, the Indian rupee started falling. On September 11, it fell to a record low with $1 worth Rs72.7. This led to a plunge in stock markets,...
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lost a critical state-level election. Does it mean the end of economic reforms for India? There were fireworks at the Patna regional headquarters of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the morning of November 8. Early trends seemed to indicate that...
In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to Sunil Asnani, a portfolio manager at Matthews Asia. Ever since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered office in 2014, a positive reversal of the economy was expected. India’s economic situation deteriorated under the previous...
With momentum on its side, the Indian economy finally has an opportunity to achieve its potential. Background Some may argue that the Indian economy has been in the limelight for the past 20 years, but this time it seems to be different. India’s economy was liberalized in 1991 in the aftermath...
Modi, with his modest roots and focus on the economy, promises to usher in a new era for India. The Congress party has ruled India for the bulk of the period since independence. For the last decade, it has been in power in the form of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), a coalition it forged...
Indian policymakers rarely act upon reform in a serious, convincing way. “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” Several developments related to India call to mind William Shakespeare’s famous line in Julius Caesar. The first are the tours of the United...
