How China Is Offering an Alternative to the IMF
China seems poised to take leadership of regional efforts to forge a safety net that protects countries in East Asia from the fragility that cross-border financial flows engender.
Privatising Indian Insurance
The risks of private ownership and the advantages of public ownership make inducting foreign investment into and privatising insurance a completely irrational policy. Plus an extract from a pamphlet written in 2014 against privatisation of insurance.
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Pakistan Caught in Debt Trap
Pakistan’s external debt and debt service burden continue to rise. The reason why the country is managing to stay afloat is because it is a strategic partner that cannot be dropped by the U.S. or China, occasional irritants and periodic disagreements notwithstanding.
Budget 2021 Appears to Be a Return to Business as Usual
There is nothing new in the budget. The neoliberal agenda continues with lower taxation, lower borrowing and efforts at asset sales to finance limited expenditures.
Fussing Over a Non-Budget
Budgets over the years have become a tiresome spectacle. With the government adopting measures that erode its own revenues, and with the passing of the FRBM Act limiting its right to borrow, there is not much the budget as an instrument of mobilizing and allocating resources can do.
Misleading Economic Signals
Even while the real economy remains in contractionary mode, not only have stock market returns exploded, but India’s stock of foreign exchange reserves have registered record-breaking increases. Nevertheless, the economic crisis is all set to worsen.
Little Value from Global Chains
Standing on the shoulders of foreign firms and depending on foreign markets, while riding roughshod over workers, is not the way to journey to an Atmanirbhar Bharat – the workers’ protest at Wistron’s Bengaluru factory assembling Apple iPhones makes this very clear.
Can the Economic Lever Nudge China?
While the military and diplomatic stand-off would be difficult to resolve, using economic weapons to temper China’s stand is not going to be easy either.