Is the Government Deliberately or Otherwise Helping the Promoters of the Vedanta Group?
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Is the Government Deliberately or Otherwise Helping the Promoters of the Vedanta Group?

ByE.A.S. Sarma

Letter to FM regarding a series of instances of regulatory forbearance extended by the government to the Vedanta Group. The writer says that these suggest an effort by the government to force the tax-payer to bear Vedanta’s debt burden to allow it to pursue its expansion programme.

PMFBY Allows Big Businesses to Profiteer at the Cost of the Farmers
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PMFBY Allows Big Businesses to Profiteer at the Cost of the Farmers

ByE.A.S. Sarma

The total premium paid under PMFBY by the Centre, the States and the farmers to insurance companies during the last 5 years was Rs 1,26,521 crore, whereas the insurance companies paid only Rs 87,320 crore to the farmers towards settlement of claims.

Increasing Threat to Federalism from Centrally Sponsored Schemes: States Need to Form a Federal Front
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Increasing Threat to Federalism from Centrally Sponsored Schemes: States Need to Form a Federal Front

ByE.A.S. Sarma

Open letter to Chief Ministers calling upon them to form a federal front of the States to persuade the Centre not to proliferate Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs), and instead transfer existing CSSs with the associated fund allocations to the States.

LIC IPO: Gross Injustice To Small LIC Policy Holders – Two Letters to FM
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LIC IPO: Gross Injustice To Small LIC Policy Holders – Two Letters to FM

ByE.A.S. Sarma

The then PM Nehru and the then FM Deshmukh, whose foresight and vision had led to the creation of a unique institution of the LIC as a social security provider for the poor, would never have imagined even remotely that their successors six decades later would wantonly dismantle it …

Private Companies Exploiting the Coal Crisis – Need for an Investigation
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Private Companies Exploiting the Coal Crisis – Need for an Investigation

ByE.A.S. Sarma

The 2021 coal crisis has severely impacted the power sector. During this crisis, while the 2 CPSEs, CIL and the Singareni Collieries Company, have ramped up coal production to tackle the shortages, the private companies which have been awarded captive coal blocks have taken advantage of the shortages to indulge in profiteering.

Proposal for a Federal Front to Contain the Onslaught on Federalism
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Proposal for a Federal Front to Contain the Onslaught on Federalism

ByE.A.S. Sarma

In recent times, there has been a distressing tendency on the part of the Centre to intrude unduly in areas that legitimately belong to the States, which has the effect of eroding the political identity of the State. These are disturbing trends that do not augur well for the well being of the nation.

The Political Economy of CPSE Disinvestment: Has National Wealth Been Put on a Distress Sale?
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The Political Economy of CPSE Disinvestment: Has National Wealth Been Put on a Distress Sale?

ByE.A.S. Sarma

The sweeping disinvestment policy announced by the NDA government in December 2021 has put most of the national wealth on a distress sale. The few oligarchs who fund the political parties are waiting with their war chests of funds ready to buy the Central Public Sector Enterprises for a song.

Privatisation of Two PSUs Counter to the Prime Minister’s Atmanirbhar Effort
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Privatisation of Two PSUs Counter to the Prime Minister’s Atmanirbhar Effort

ByE.A.S. Sarma

The proposed privatisation of two CPSUs, namely, Central Electronics Ltd. (CEL) and Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML), runs counter to the Atma Nirbhar idea, whose intention is to build self-reliance in the different sectors of the economy.