Op-Eds

RBI (not GoI) announcing a push towards CAC - widely seen as increasing the vulnerability of emerging market economies to global macroeconomic shocks - on the day the Global Hunger Index (GHI) showed India slip three ranks to fall below Pakistan Bangladesh and Nepal marks a seismic shift in India's macroeconomic policies. India is on...   Read More

Challenges abound in reducing dependence on coal and oil but the greater use of gas in our energy mix could ease the way. Ironically the coal crisis has forced the Indian government to ramp up domestic production and imports of coal the dirtiest fossil fuel while the world focuses on net-zero carbon emissions by 2050....   Read More

In the latest Global Innovation India India’s rank is 46. The good news is that she has climbed 2 spots over the previous year’s standing and the performance is labelled as above expectations against the yardstick of the level of development. The bad news is that Asian countries like Malaysia Vietnam Thailand or the newly...   Read More

Overall the best way to keep prices competitive and inflation low in any economy is by ensuring efficient production structures resulting in low cost of production continuous innovation leveraging of scale economies better integration within domestic and with international markets and implementation of sustainable fiscal and monetary policies. Inflation is making a comeback globally. A...   Read More

Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic women have exhibited higher levels of depression and anxiety than men across nations and social classes On the occasion of the World Mental Health Day on October 10 it’s time to put under the spotlight issues pertaining to gender and women’s mental welfare. With the theme this year being “Mental...   Read More

Privatisation may not ensure redemption for the loss-making airline but it still is high time the government gets this done The much-delayed privatisation of Air India has suffered from several false take offs. Since the interim Budget of 1991-92 India has followed a policy of disinvestment with regards to Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs). The...   Read More

The economic consequences and political benefits associated with it encouraged many countries to try and “game” the system by making superficial improvements on indicators being measured and when that failed by putting explicit pressure on the World Bank research team. “The much-touted Ease of Doing Business Index (EoDB) is dead. The flagship product created by...   Read More

1st episode of Land of a Billion Season 2! by the Quint This podcast features Mr Deepak Sanan  NCAER and Vivek Kumar Singh the Additional Chief Secretary Revenue and Land Reforms in the Government of Bihar. Mr Sanan speaks extensively about NCAER’s work- Land Records and Services Index (N-LRSI). The episode explores various questions and...   Read More

The NCAER recently undertook a study on cooperative agro-processing and identification of institutional financial lacunae in the cooperative movement The cooperative movement in India has regained focus after the Union Government recently created a Ministry of Cooperation to provide a separate administrative legal and policy framework for streamlining the cooperatives. The move is expected to...   Read More

Statutory regulatory authorities need autonomy in staffing their organisations with specialists who have integrity and knowledge Newspapers reported recently the call of the chairman of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) for a “standalone legislation”. NFRA is a relatively new regulator —largely invisible to the general public—constituted in October 2018 under Section 132 of the...   Read More