Urban India generates nearly two-thirds of the national GDP, yet its municipalities control less than one per cent of the country’s tax revenue. Indian cities are not generating revenue, not because they are inefficient, but because the fiscal architecture has failed them. Today, municipal finance is dependent on intergovernmental transfers, loans, and schemes. The core of the problem lies in the centralisation of taxation powers.
Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) started in July 2012 as a three-year scheme addressing India’s growing import dependency. In 2015, it underwent its first major revision, extending the program to 2020, adding 15 verticals, and simplifying approval processes to encourage faster investment. By 2017, strategic amendments further expedited procedures and extended deadlines to the end of 2018. Applications closed in December 2018, but implementation continues. In 2020, the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) was launched as a successor, focusing on incentivizing component manufacturing with 25% capital expenditure support.
At the centre of the issue is the US goods trade deficit with China – $295.4 billion in 2024. President Donald Trump, in his 2016 election campaign, said China was “raping” the US. It needs to be noted that while China, Mexico, and Canada had massive trade surpluses with the US, the latter imposed tariffs on almost all countries.
The RBI’s latest monetary policy and regulatory pronouncements are a strange mixture of caution and recklessness. The policy appreciates that with inflation depressed, not only because of well-behaved food prices but also because of deficient demand that has sent fast-moving consumer goods companies into depression, real interest rates in the economy are high.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ordered the government to set up a committee to evolve measures to help home buyers who find that the properties they have invested in are stuck in stalled construction, even as their builders go into insolvency.
India is steadily moving towards self-reliance and technological independence, especially under programs like Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India. These initiatives aim to reduce reliance on imports across various sectors, including sustainable energy. An essential part of this shift is gaining the ability to access and process critical minerals. Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are crucial in making high-performance components like Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPMs). These magnets are widely used in wind turbines, electric cars, electronics and defense applications.
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) prepared the Master Plan for Delhi 2041 (MPD 2041) as a comprehensive statutory development plan, which is the fourth plan, following its predecessors in the years of 1962, 2001, and 2021.