Long-time reader Joydeep Mukherji sends us this (via email)
This article talks about a program for Jains to donate money to help teach Jain students for free. It seems like a nice idea. Perhaps other groups (Patels, Jats, Chettiars) can follow their example. However, it may be a bad idea if you think […]
The total strength of the defence employees has risen from nearly 362,000 in 1960 to 1.3 million today. The defence pensions bill, which is over 50 percent of the central government’s pensions bill, has also risen exponentially since the 1960s. It has grown nearly tenfold from Rs. 1670 Crore in 1990-91 to Rs. 15,244 Crore […]
So the UPA government is set to improve credit availability (and write off loans) for farmers. Laveesh Bhandari tells you why, if improving the livelihood of farmers is a policy goal, the Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram are barking up the wrong tree.
Here lies the crux of the matter. If use of new seeds, fertiliser […]
A new research paper titled Trading Population for Productivity: Theory and Evidence by Oded Galor and Andrew Mountford focuses on a novel Unified Growth Theory. The paper argues that the -
differential effect of international trade on the demand for human capital across countries has been a major determinant of the distribution of income and population […]
The Indian Finance Ministry has launched an internship programme.
More details available here - link
Sounds fascinating. If you’re interested, apply soon, since the deadline is nigh — 15 Jan.
A courtesy salaam to Ajay Shah.
Q) Is this the first such internship programme in the Finance Ministry?
As another year draws to an end, extracts from two speeches delivered this year — one by an ex-finance minister (who happens to be the current Prime Minister) and another by the current Finance Minister. Both the speeches were delivered to a foreign audience and the extracts reproduced here cover only the hard facts, […]
While as an army Jawan fighting militants in Kashmir gets a monthly pay packet of Rs 14,000 and host of other benefits including allowances in the form of disturbed area allowance his counterpart in the CRPF draws a meager pay of Rs 7,500
One of the criticisms leveled against India’s SEZ policy is that the zones are too small to make a real difference. But there’s a very big zone that could be an SEZ, especially if the state’s politicians—who are all for ‘autonomy’—decided economic freedom is something that is well in their capacity to achieve. And set […]
In a series of seven short posts over at The Acorn I show how Tehelka juggled facts and figures in order to poke holes into the “Vibrant Gujarat” story. I’m posting the concluding piece of the series here, to summarise where we are at the end of our examination of Shivam Vij’s article.
There is no […]
…how the Indian elite is not paying the burden and cost of its status
There are linkages between the larger society and its military subsystem. The military is always in a dilemma - how much to converge so as to absorb the social and political values and pathologies of the civil society and how far […]
A report in the Khaleej Times highlights the unattractive nature of a military career in India; not only for the young aspirants, but also for those who have already served for a significant period in uniform.
Officers and men are deserting the Indian armed forces — the second-largest in the world after China — in droves. […]
around the world, again by Hans Gosling. Dont miss it - worth every minute. This talk is a follow up to the previous one (thanks Ajoy for the comment) that we had posted last week.
And, thanks to Nikhil, the data is available on the web too. Here it is where it is available […]
This is a game that is being played out in the media for a while now. Pick a number, preferably in percentages, below 93 and above 0. Then, say that number, is the percentage of people who live in dire (or choose your adjective) poverty.
Read this post to see how this game has […]
…with the best stats you have ever seen by Hans Rosling. This, from TED, a must see site. A slightly dated, yet, relevant link.
I could not embed the video, so, for now, you have to click the link above. It is worth it…
Let’s have unilateral trade liberalisation
Abi is right. Dweep didn’t go far enough. What India needs to do is to say “to hell with the WTO” and unilaterally, completely, dismantle trade barriers. For that matter, so does everyone else.
Here’s Sauvik Chakraverti on the topic on TCS Daily:
Unilateral free trade is a very good idea for a […]
In today’s DNA Mukul Asher & Amarendu Nandy argue that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is ill-equipped to fulfil its mandate of providing retirement income security.
The EPFO is an unusual national provident fund in combining the features of a defined benefit scheme (Employees Pension Scheme or EPS, introduced in 1995) with those of a […]
Why strive for excellence when mediocrity will suffice?
You can’t blame Dr Manmohan Singh for telling us what the problem is. Soon after he took office, he told us that fixing the bureaucracy was crucial for India’s development. Last year, he said that the Naxalite insurgency is the biggest threat to internal security. And, now, in […]
Bongop’o’ndit rips apart another Pankaj Mishra article:
Pankaj Mishra writes an opinion piece for Outlook’s India at 60 issue , seemingly cautioning on excessive championing of and reveling in India’s current resurgence at the cost of insensitivity to myriad problem that still plague the country. I say seemingly because that’s how he starts, and then meanders […]
And in the process, discover your Inner Economist
Tyler Cowen wants to give merit-based gifts to Indians. Yes, this involves economics professors and free-market fundamentals. He has made an announcement on his blog, and it may be worth your time to check it out.
With your email, send a one sentence proposal of how the money will […]
INSEAD Affiliate Professor Patrick Turner surmises that the speed of entrepreneurship development in China is likely to erase the lead that India currently enjoys in entrepreneurship over its northern neighbour. In his view, the entrepreneurship bandwagon in both the countries has been fueled by a combination of a number of overseas residents returning to […]