Aspirations

T he union Economic Budget 2011-12 was a mixed bag.I would say Balanced Budget. (Though it was deviod of the bold  reform  measures  but yeah in the present economic scenario-national and international economic scenario this was expected and was rational) Some features which attracted me the most were- -->Road map towards fiscal consolidation(quite impressive target of 4.6% if achieved ) -->Reduced market borrowing by the Government (3.43 lakh cr ) which would avoid "crowd-out" of the private investment. -->A move towards further integration with the world economy (in terms of allowing foreign funds in Indian Mutual Fund). -->Reforms in Infrastructure financing (30,000cr Tax free Bonds+ long term fnance (corporate debt market)+ take out financing, foreign funds allowed fr this sector with some tax exemption) ...still a long way to go to meet this infra deficit. -->I also found the increase in salary for Anganwadi workers and helpers as a positive step....

Ever since Ranchi was selected as the venue for the national games - I was super excited to witness the spectacle called National Games to be held in Ranchi(my home city). I cherished the thought that  soon I will witness live sports . Since a month I was really thrilled to see how my city of falls was getting ready for the show- the roads were reconstructed, the city  walls painted with shades of yellow, pink and blue, with anti-encroachment drives (suddenly the city’s  streets seemed so well maintained and traffic blues were a thing of the past ), the whole city was suddenly rising to meet the challenges thrown open to her. I was really excited to witness the sea change in administrative efficiency with law and order in place and each and every citizen cooperating with the administration in entirety . Ever since the opening of the national games (after  some glitches of around 4yrs) , I was( to be honest)  bewildered by the scintillating opening ceremony ...

During  my school days , I remember  understanding and marking the rivers, lakes, mountains, states of india and world was one of the toughest  expedition for me. Nevertheless, I had  since those times developed  a deep sense of curiosity about the seven states located in the North east of India. This curiosity was further escalated when I started reading special editions of Yojana and kurukshetra on the North Eastern states. While reading about these states I had roughly figured out that these states are abound with natural beauty and resources . I as an economist had also pondered several times as to how these states economy thrived and as to how a balanced and holistic development can be attained. This  curiosity  was  raised to the top eschelons  when I strated enjoying Anthropology of India and this region seemed to me as a  living library  of anthropological  world.At that point in time with the nits and bits of knowledg...

Since 2nd february,2006- India witnessed the implementation of a policy miracle manifested in the form of the enactment of the MNREGA scheme. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The scheme notwithstanding the deficits is a "BIG" policy miracle no doubt and was initiated with the best of intentions. The very fact that in a country like India where the huge demography poses the challenge of unemployment necessiates that the political economy comes up with an institutional innovation to give an opportunity to all who demand it. This is a herculean challenge but the fact that rural demography demands a different set of employment landscape namely an assured means of job + a steady flow of purchasing power  coupled with the ability to do manual w...

62 years back , a salute of 21 guns and the unfurling of the Indian National Flag by Dr. Rajendra  Prasad heralded the historic  birth of the Indian Republic on January 26, 1950 ; 894 days after our country became a dominion following withdrawal of British Rule. Since then, every year the day is celebrated with great pride and happiness all over the nation.  The transition of India from a British colony to a sovereign , secular and democratic nation was indeed historical . It was a long journey of around two decades that started with the conceptualization of the dream in 1930 to its actual realization in 1950. Though India became a free nation on August 15, 1947, it enjoyed the true spirit of Independence on January 26, 1950 when the Constitution of India finally came into force.  On the eve of India’s Republic Day , Indians were assured not only of a fully democratic and secular state but also a country that will fight for “the ending of poverty and ignorance and d...

ECON-PARADOX Though ,I  cannot  claim  to  be  a  “Know- all’ in  Economics,infact,  I am  a  “Know- little” in  Economics  but from  my  periphery  knowledge  ,I  would  like  to  pen  down  an  ECON- PARADOX that  keeps  on  rattling  in my  mind.Last  year,  when  I  studied  POVERTY  and  INEQUALITY  in  detail(browsing  like  a  hungry  child  first  through  one  book  then  through  another  and  even  leaving  no  stone  unturned  to  churn  out the  maximum  from  some  notable  works  on  Poverty  like  those  of  Amartya  Sen  , Jeffery  Sachs  etc…)  what  I  came  to  digest  was  th...

MAA TUJHE SAALAM T he lyrics of "Vande Matram-Maa Tujhe Saalam" by A.R Rahman mesmerized me during my school days. It always happened to be my favorite song whenever I had to go for classical stage performances . Nevertheless, at that point in time, the lyrics and music was what enchanted me and I hardly knew  the  real intricate meaning of the song. For me , Independence day as a school kid was a day of unfurling the National Flag in school and eating the sweets and enjoying another nice holiday. But today , the same day occupies a very sacred position in my life. After living in London , I realized-what India is ....I still remember the first induction day at my University (London School Of Economics ) in London wherein one of my classmate (whom I later discovered to be one of the chief economist in the Canadian Government) enthusiastically asked me as to what is "India"-how can we manage so much unity in diversity- to him India was synonym to an unexplored...