Opinion: Bornali Bhandari and Laxmi Joshi. Small farmers lack access to tools, as the tractor-dominated farm machinery sector suffers from demand, supply constraints India is simply not producing the sort of farm machinery that our small and marginal farmers want or can readily use at a price which appeals to them. Farm machinery comprises equipment... Read More
Opinion: Poonam Gupta and Barry Eichengreen Given its favorable demography democratic polity and large and diversified economy India can in principle grow at 7% or higher for years to come. But the only route to such growth that remains open runs through structural reforms that the government has taken off the table. One country stands out... Read More
Opinion:Palash Baruah and D. L. Wankhar Periodic Labour Force Survey data shows the situation is worse for women. And those who got the training, almost half of them accounted for self-learning or ‘learning on the job’ Vocational and technical training has been the central pillar of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious skill building mission since... Read More
Opinion: Poonam Munjal & Nijara Deka Prepare business strategies for districts and leverage existing government schemes to make India a global economic powerhouse In the face of the COVId-19 pandemic and the rise in food and fuel prices it may appear difficult for the country to reach its US $5-trillion economy target by 2025. But... Read More
Opinion: Poonam Gupta As far as countercyclical policy support is concerned it is important to adhere to macroeconomic prudence and to recreate adequate policy buffers. There are certain policy actions India could pursue. In the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) released on Tuesday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered the projected growth rate for... Read More
Opinion: Debasis Barik Indoor air pollution is as much a health hazard as outdoor pollution and women bear the brunt of it. Use of clean cooking fuel must increase. The mistaken belief that pollution-related illnesses can be controlled mainly by controlling outdoor air pollution has led us to ignore the serious challenges posed by indoor... Read More
Opinion: Bornali Bhandari and Poonam Munjal While Government schemes may help map current strengths all districts need to have a vision for the future and plan for it in a holistic and integrated fashion. The Aspirational Districts Programme is doing a commendable job of pulling backward districts away from a low equilibrium state to a high... Read More
Opinion: Poonam Gupta For now RBI should be comfortable letting it slide (gently if it so wishes) by another 5% in the coming months and even more if the external market pressure continues. Global capital flows have been retrenching from emerging market (EM) economies since end-February in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Another... Read More
Opinion: Poonam Gupta and Arvind Panagariya: All public sector banks (PSBs) should be privatised and only SBI— due to its better performance — may remain under government ownership for now, a policy paper by two influential economists has recommended. The policy paper is to be presented at the India Policy Forum on Tuesday. It has been... Read More
Opinion: Sonalde Desai The size of our labour force is constrained by the absence of women from the workforce. Only about 30% of women aged 15 and above are employed either in wage work on family farms and businesses. The United Nations Population Division released a new set of population projections on July 11 World... Read More