Explained: The Fall of the Rupee, the RBI’s Response, and Current State of India’s Economy
Things have taken a rocky turn for the Indian rupee this year and the Central Bank is worried about how the domestic currency is unspooling. Representational image. | Photo Credit: REUTERS In what feels like chucking pails of water at a forest fire, the RBI has been selling dollars in
Frontline Wrapped: Top Ten Defining Economics Narratives of 2024
As the year comes to a close, Frontline has curated a list of our ten best economics stories of the year. | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement India saw a flurry of economic activity in 2024, with major events unfolding throughout the year. From the Election Commission of India’s publication
France in Turmoil: Prime Minister Michel Barnier Ousted in No-Confidence Motion Amidst Economic Crisis
When Prime Minister Michel Barnier unveiled his deficit-reduction plan in October, promising to bring down the public deficit from around 6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 3 per cent in 2029, it was seen as an attempt to steer the French economy into calmer waters. But on
India’s Elderly Care Crisis: Healthcare Costs, Digital Divide, and Policy Gaps Affect 153M Senior Citizens
“I still use checkbooks at the bank and don’t own credit cards, debit cards, or any net banking app,” says R. Sampathkumar, an octogenarian from Chennai. A retired deputy manager from Indian Oil Corporation, he is recovering from knee surgery performed seven months ago. He lives with his wife in
Deep-Sea Fishermen of Kerala and Tamil Nadu: Life, Risk and Survival in the Arabian Sea
The fishermen who go for deep-sea fishing are the most valiant among the marine fishing communities inhabiting the coasts of Kanyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram. Their predecessors used to set sail in all seasons on the Arabian Sea even before the arrival of GPS and wireless communication. | Photo Credit: Joseph Rahul
India’s Economic Inequality Crisis: How Elite Development Models Failed the Nation
On June 4, 2005, the venerated business house of the Tatas signed an agreement to set up a steel plant in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. Virtually on the same day, a private militia known as Salwa Judum (“Peace March” or “Purification Hunt” in south Chhattisgarh’s Gondi language) emerged in Bastar to protect
Bibek Debroy (1955-2024): The Scholar Who Shaped India’s Economic Transition
Bibek Debroy—”Bibekda,” “Bibek sir,” and simply “Bibek” to his close friends and colleagues—who passed away on November 1, 2024, was a policy advisor of a different breed. He straddled the complexities of economic policymaking with ease. His breadth of understanding of issues, diverse interests, ability to communicate intricate policy matters
Samsung Workers’ Strike Is a Milestone in Tamil Nadu’s Labour Movement in the Post-Liberalisation Era
When the workers of the Samsung Electronics unit in Sriperumbudur, 40 km from Chennai, went on strike for better wages and improved conditions on September 9, little did they realise that their struggle would evolve into a watershed moment in Tamil Nadu’s labour movement in the post-liberalisation era. When it
Economic Perspectives | C.P. Chandrasekhar writes: Indians lining up for jobs in Israel exposes India’s unemployment problem
Recruitment drives held over the last week of January, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and Rohtak, Haryana, for Indian workers to undertake construction and caregiver jobs in Israel have captured global attention. Thousands of job aspirants, who had either registered online or just walked in for interviews, were seen as vying
SUM AND SUBSTANCE | What broke Paytm?
It was a picture of contrasts. At the Davos World Economic Forum in 2023, Paytm CEO and founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma was asked by the business channel CNBC TV18 about the mood in the “new-economy contingent” he was representing. VSS, as he is commonly known, was asked about the frequent