Greater Kashmir

The title of this column is actually a very fertile and active area of research in the economics and finance academic professions. The question refers not just to ownership by the government vis-a-vis the private sector, but also between private, domestic and foreign owners. Do banks perform... read more

India’s vast, mostly unregulated and fast-growing shadow banking sector is in the midst of a crisis. This is a fire that threatens to engulf much more than the sector in which it has started and carries the potential to burn down important segments of the Indian economy. The government is... read more

In the next five years India aims to become a five trillion dollar economy. It’s a nice round number, although the word “trillion” is not quite folksy enough. It actually equals one lakh crore, the preferred coinage of our bureaucrats, ministers and bankers. It’s basically five followed by twelve... read more

The interim budget in February gave a substantial stimulus to the taxpayer. Almost three crore taxpayers moved out of the net, as the minimum threshold was raised. Further the cash transfer to farming households led to some consumption push, and not to forget electoral gains too. Against that... read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has focused on the water crisis facing the nation in his first Mann Ki Baat of the post-election season. The Prime Minister said: “…let’s…start a mass movement for water conservation. We together should all resolve to save every drop of water and I believe that water is... read more

It was the remarkable foresight of the makers of the Indian Constitution that they thought of creating a dedicated Schedule of Languages - the 8thSchedule – which initially included 14 languages as the languages of administration. This was a radical departure from the European idea of nationalism... read more

The Finance Minister will present her maiden Union Budget on July 5. She has asked all citizens to send their inputs, promising that each proposal will be duly examined. She has welcomed and already thanked all the anticipated contributors to this crowdsourcing. This makes the process more... read more

It will be sometime before the depth of Narendra Modi’s electoral sweep sinks in and a much longer time before the phenomenon is better understood. The Prime Minister was right in telling his party workers that this country has truly given him a lot and that political pundits will have to revisit... read more

The new NDA government will take charge in the last week of May 2019. The immediate task before the government is to prepare and present the Union budget. The budget exercise will be against the backdrop of a sub-par 4 per cent inflation rate, a growth rate of a little higher than 7 per cent and... read more

There are a host of considerations that rule, and not all of them are easily fathomed by city folk who tend to prefer the so-called national parties and pre-set alliances. Some of these dynamics are now opening up the reading, tentative, early and not backed up well, that the SP-BSP combine is... read more