Modi’s Billionaire Boom: The Hidden Cost to India’s Public Sector
The Forbes World Billionaires annual list for 2024 included 25 new names from India, taking the number of Indians to 200. The Narendra Modi decade has undoubtedly been fantastic for a section of the super-rich, and through the years of COVID, reverse migration, agriculture crisis, and the collapse of many
The Nobel Prize for Economics: Celebration of Private Property and Capitalism
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize, the Nobel for “Economic Sciences”, has always been controversial. This is true of the 2024 award to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson as well. Typically, the economics Nobel is awarded to mainstream economists for work that directly or indirectly privileges the market in capitalist
Locked Out By KYC: How a ‘Banking Formality’ is Depriving India’s Poor of their Right to a Dignified Life
Ashok Parhaiya lives on the margins of subsistence in Uchvabal, a small village in Jharkhand’s Latehar district. Three of his children receive scholarships, but they are unable to withdraw the money because their bank accounts have been frozen. “Kwicy laga hua hai [KYC has been enforced],” explains Ashok. This is the
From Moderation to Polarisation: Maharashtra’s Political Identity Crisis
If one were looking for just one example of what is wrong with politics in the State of Maharashtra, a statement by the BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis might serve the purpose well. In his capacity as Home Minister, referring to a youth who supposedly posted some
Maharashtra’s Prosperity Paradox – Frontline
Maharashtra’s economy dwarfs that of several national economies. In 2023-24, the nominal income of the State was Rs.40,44,251 crore. In dollar terms, at $483.1 billion, Maharashtra’s economy is larger than Nepal’s. Among Indian States, its economy is the largest. As much as 31 per cent of its income comes from
Wazir X: No One’s Problem, Everyone’s Money As Cryptocurrency Firm Hit By Cyberattack
In an endless stream of appeals for help, social media platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter) have been awash with posts by people who traded or invested in crypto on the crypto trading platform WazirX pleading to get their money back. What happened to their investments and why
Ashoka Mody Writes: The Budget’s Sound and Fury
Pundits yell their views on television. Analysts dissect incomprehensible statistics. Others torture the data to reconcile fake GDP growth numbers with joblessness alongside anaemic consumption and private investment. They wonder why foreign investors are turning away when the GDP is growing so rapidly. Excitement ebbs, and a vigil begins for
Hindenburg’s Shocking Report Puts Madhabi Puri Buch in the Spotlight and India’s Market Regulator Under Scrutiny
In a report published on August 10, US-based firm Hindenburg Research alleged that Madhabi Puri Buch, the chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and her husband previously held investments in offshore funds also used by the Adani Group. It says the Bermuda-based Global Opportunities Fund, which
India’s Onion Export Ban Backfires, Leaving Maharashtra Farmers in Crisis
An onion farmer in Beed, Maharashtra, in May 2024. The Indian onion farmer has lost a big opportunity to capture the international market. | Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B Maharashtra’s second Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has started his statewide tour ahead of the Assembly election. He opened his yatra
Two Myths About the Indian Middle Class
The first myth is in invoking the “middle class” as synonymous with income taxpayers, investment gains, and so on. Promoting policies for the middle class, the ordinary Indian, or the common man naturally enjoy broad support. | Photo Credit: Rajanish Kakade Politics is about who gets what. This definition of