Category Thematic Areas

India’s Economic Survey Omissions: Identifying Constraints and Making Recommendations

Telling the truth to power is, of course, the job of journalists. But it used to be the case that the pre-Budget Economic Survey took pains to highlight challenges (near-term and structural) that policy and Budget outlay need to address.

This year’s Survey has the unique distinction of brushing off two traditional responsibilities of the Survey: identifying constraints and making recommendations. Instead, it sings an erudite paean to India’s economic management over the last eight years and projects continued growth, even if the world economy slows down.

Budget 2023- 24: Policy Needs Boost to Change Economy

Focus has to shift from the automated large scale sector, to promotion of the rural economy and the small and micro sectors.

The Union Budget 2023-24 is around the corner. A budget is expected to identify the issues facing the economy and society and try to provide solutions to them. This may involve continuing policies or changing them. The budget represents the priorities of the government – what gets more allocation and what gets less. Changes in priorities take time to show any impact, so many analysts say that budgets do not make a difference. But, given that the budget is the largest single economic event, it matters even if priorities remain unchanged.

Union Budget 2023- 24: Prosperity Oriented Approach to Governance

Like previous Budgets, this too will be tailored to PM Modi’s longer term, prosperity-oriented approach to governance, rather than a short term, populist approach.

One of the standard features of office buildings and residential complexes of a certain, not so distant, vintage in India’s major cities is the absence of any designated space for parking cars. Urban planning hasn’t been one of the country’s great strengths. In fact, most cities have grown unplanned. However, the lack of parking spaces for cars (there may be some for two-wheelers) was quite deliberate. Urban planners simply did not believe that India would become prosperous enough for masses to own cars in any reasonable time frame (infrastructure is built for at least 30 to 50 years). And to be fair it wasn’t just urban planners, but most of the nation.

Budget 2023- 24: The Case to Build New Cities

By 2051, India may have an additional 335 million urban population. Several new cities will be needed to settle them.

ndia needs more than a pat on the back from fiscal-deficit-focused rating agencies and analysts, in order to regain economic vigour in a slowing world. A whole lot more. India needs a new New Deal, and, in the present national and global context, that would mean investing in a large project that creates demand for material and machines produced in India and for lots of labour, both skilled and unskilled, while adding to India’s future productive capacity. Building a new city is a good choice.

Exploring the Economic Potential of Indian Waterways

Eleven months ago, in a first for inland waterway cargo movement in India, the MV Lal Bahadur Shastri, a river cargo vessel, transported 200 metric tonnes of food grain over 2,350 km from Patna to Guwahati via Bangladesh. Now, the MV Ganga Vilas, a luxury liner, has begun to operate the world's longest river cruise, across 3,200 km, from Varanasi to Dibrugarh via Bangladesh.

Cities and ‘Triple Engine’ Sarkaar

For cities to develop it is essential that decision-making power is given to the local administration — holistic and sustainable city-specific development cannot happen in a top-down approach where the Centre or state decides.

A prerequisite for development is uniformity in the governance structures from top to bottom. This is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while inaugurating a metro project in Mumbai on January 19. He called upon the people of Mumbai to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the municipal corporation elections, which are long overdue. He exhorted that the ‘triple engine’ governance model — the Centre, the state, and the Mumbai corporation — should be run directly or in partnership with the BJP for the development in the metro city.

Defence and Union Budget

Budget made for capital expenditure must increase if India is to keep pace with China's rising military might. India’s tumultuous and volatile strategic environment showed no signs of abating in intensity. New Delhi continues to face a two-front challenge from both of its primary foes, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Pakistan, notwithstanding the latter’s recent conciliatory overtures, which are only a smokescreen to tide over its dire economic vulnerabilities.

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