Economy

IN 2011, in Davos, the World Economic Forum (WEF) hailed the birth of a new “asset class” – data. Going into raptures, they proclaimed data as the new oil. The WEF love for data has … Read moreThe Discontents of the Data Universe

THE long awaited CAG Report on the Rafale and 10 other defence acquisitions begins with two wrong notes. One is the acceptance of the government’s demand to redact the price details of the Medium Multi-Role … Read moreCAG Report: A Poor Defence of the Rafale Deal

THE US, European Union (EU) and its allies are part of a 76-country “WTO initiative” on “trade related aspects of e-commerce”. Strangely enough, this initiative was launched in the World Economic Forum at Davos, and … Read moreThe Strange Spectacle of WTO Negotiations being Launched in WEF, Davos

RAKSHA Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman’s long and tortured statements in the Lok Sabha on January 4 and 7, 2019 during the debate on the Rafale scandal followed the by now well-established pattern of the government’s, and … Read moreRaksha Mantri on HAL & Rafale: Misdirection and Alternative Facts

The Judgement by Justice OP Saini in the 2G case, which acquits all the accused, has justifiably created a fresh controversy in the country. We are told by the Congress and its sympathisers that the … Read moreThe Strange 2G Judgement: CAG and the Supreme Court at Fault, Not A Raja

The Adanis are again in the news, this time for importing transmission equipment from Japan, China and South Korea, hiking its price through an Adani intermediary in Dubai, and transferring the difference to the off-shore … Read moreAdani Import Fraud of 2014 and its Continuing Dividend

There is a new buzz in the country at the prospect of an ultra-modern, even futuristic, transportation system making a debut in India, among the first few countries to host this much-touted system. If it … Read moreHyperloop in India: Yet Another Pipedream?

It is by now clear that the settled policy framework of the Modi government is to pump in public investment for infrastructure, services, taxes and other incentives for corporates and higher income groups in the … Read moreCivil Aviation Policy: Subsidize the Rich, Corporates and Foreign Companies

Who is Satoshi Nakamoto and why should we even bother knowing who he is? Nakamoto is the pseudonym of the person who created the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, who till this week, was just a name. Craig … Read moreBitcoin: Has the Real Nakamoto Stepped Forward?

Prime Minister Modi recently launched one of his pet programmes, namely setting up 100 “smart cities,” along with plans for upgrading 500 towns and cities (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation or AMRUT), and … Read moreSmart Cities and Urban Mirages

The only reason there is a question mark at the end of the title is that, although a Policy Note is pending consideration by the Cabinet, the BJP-led government has not yet announced its decision. … Read more100% FDI in Indian Defence Industries: “Nationalists” Ditch Self-Reliance?

A favourite Modi idea, highlighted in the BJP manifesto, is to introduce bullet trains in India. Not just in one or two small stretches as has been contemplated of and on earlier, but in a … Read moreBullet Trains: Bad Idea for India