In the Name of the South: India's aggressive economic
diplomacy
Mar 26th 2024, C.P. Chandrasekhar

India's government has since the year of its G20 Presidency claimed to have restored the country's role as the 'Voice of the South' in global dialogues. That is often backed up by reference to its efforts to focus attention on the problem of debt stress and default in poor developing countries, and to the induction of the African Union into the G20.

Once More on Poverty Figures of India
Mar 25th 2024, Prabhat Patnaik

The other day the Chief Executive Officer of Niti Ayog made a fantastic claim, that the poverty ratio in India had fallen below 5 percent according to the 2022-23 consumption expenditure survey data.

Capitalist Trap for Scientific Advances
Mar 18th 2024, Prabhat Patnaik

There is a paradox at the core of the efflorescence of science that has occurred over the last millennium. In essence this efflorescence has the potential to increase human freedom immensely.

Subtle War at the WTO
Mar 7th 2024, C.P. Chandrasekhar

At the time of writing, the 13th ministerial meet of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is under way in Abu Dhabi. Among the many issues that are being discussed are two of concern for less developed countries generally and India in particular.

Federal Fracture: A nation in crisis
Feb 22nd 2024, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Indian federalism is on the verge of breakdown. Ministers from opposition-ruled States have taken to the streets in New Delhi to protest against discrimination by the Centre.

The Descent into Barbarism
Feb 19th 2024, Prabhat Patnaik

In The Junius Pamphlet written from jail in 1915, Rosa Luxemburg had said that the choice before mankind was between barbarism and socialism. Liberal opinion would contest this, arguing that the barbarism that marked the two world wars and the period in between was unrelated to capitalism;

The Budget and the Inversion of Reason
Feb 12th 2024, Prabhat Patnaik

The BJP government holds that truth is what Modi says; if evidence points otherwise then evidence must be wrong and should be suppressed. Modi says that India never had it so good as during the last decade of his government; but since official statistics contradict him, the statistics must be wrong and the statistical system must be changed.

Distress and Displacement in Times of War
Feb 9th 2024, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Recruitment drives held over the last week of January, in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and Rohtak in Haryana, for Indian workers to undertake construction and caregiver jobs in Israel have captured global attention.

What the GDP Hides
Feb 5th 2024, Prabhat Patnaik

There are well-known problems associated with the concept of gross domestic product as well as with its measurement. The inclusion of the service sector within GDP is something that Adam Smith would have objected to on the conceptual grounds that those employed in this sector constituted "unproductive workers";

The Scourge of Unemployment
Jan 29th 2024, Prabhat Patnaik

The unemployment situation is worse today than it has ever been in post-independence India. There are two distinct elements that have contributed to this situation. One is the fact that the output recovery from the fall caused by the pandemic-linked lockdown has not been accompanied by a comparable employment recovery.

The IMF and the Argentinian Right
Jan 25th 2024, C.P. Chandrasekhar

On January 10, the IMF announced its decision to release $4.7 billion out of a $57 billion bailout package sanctioned in 2018 to perennially debt-distressed Argentina, then under a right-wing government headed by Mauricio Macrio.

The Theoretical Significance of Lenin's Imperialism
Jan 22nd 2024, Prabhat Patnaik

The significance of Lenin's Imperialism lay in the fact that it totally revolutionised the perception of the revolution. Marx and Engels had already visualised the possibility of colonial and dependent countries having revolutions of their own even before the proletarian revolution in the metropolis.

Lessons from a Zambian standoff
Jan 19th 2024, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The recent collapse of the protracted negotiations to restructure Zambia's external debt, following a default in November 2020, underlines the failure of the prevailing international financial architecture to address global challenges.

The Question of Pensions
Jan 15th 2024, Prabhat Patnaik

We observe a strange phenomenon everyday, so strange that its strangeness goes generally unnoticed. Government spokespersons from the prime minister downwards go on repeating ad nauseam that India is the most rapidly growing major economy in the world today, that it will soon become a 5 trillion dollar economy, and that it has overtaken China in terms of the growth rate of the gross domestic product.

India's Stock Market: Is a downturn overdue?
Jan 12th 2024, C.P. Chandrasekhar

A longish bull-run that added to investor cheer over Christmas week 2023 took the most cited index of Indian stock market activity, the Sensex, to a record 77,240 level on the last trading day of the year.

What "Dollarisation" Entails
Jan 8th 2024, Prabhat Patnaik

Argentina's new president Javier Milei proposes to use US dollars as the currency of his country, while abolishing its central bank altogether. What is involved in this proposal is not just maintaining a fixed exchange rate between the dollar and the domestic currency, but an abolition of the domestic currency altogether.

An Education Policy for Colonising Minds
Jan 1st 2024, Prabhat Patnaik

Imperialist hegemony over the third world is exercised not just through arms and economic might but also through the hegemony of ideas, by making the victims see the world the way imperialism wants them to see it.

The Vacuity of the Free Trade Argument
Dec 25th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Imagine a country that is exposed to relatively unrestricted trade. There are two obvious problems that it can face because of this trade policy: the first is a balance of payments problem because its exports are insufficient relative to its imports.

Neo-Liberal Falsehoods
Dec 18th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Neo-Liberalism propagates a set of outright falsehoods to present itself in a favourable light compared to the preceding dirigiste regime in India. The basic theme is to suggest that under neo-liberalism there has been such an acceleration of the growth rate of Gross Domestic Product that the people as a whole have become much better off.

Pitfalls of Export-Led Growth
Dec 11th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

The wisdom of pursuing a strategy of export-led growth has been discussed among development economists for at least half a century, ever since the so-called East Asian ''miracle'' started to be contrasted with the comparatively sluggish growth experience of countries like India that were pursuing, in the World Bank's language, an ''inward looking'' development strategy.

The Pervasiveness of Poverty in India
Nov 27th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

One of the striking findings of the Bihar Caste Survey, which bears out what the Left has been asserting for a long time, is that absolute poverty in the country is far more pervasive than what successive governments in India have been claiming.

Settler Colonialism under a Shroud of Victimhood
Nov 20th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had witnessed the emergence of two different paradigms of colonialism: the first, of which India was the classic example, involved the conquest of countries which had had a history of established central administrations.

The Growing Crisis of Unemployment
Nov 13th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

In an economy like ours where the work-force is not neatly divided into "the employed" and "the unemployed", and instead there is massive and growing casualisation of work, measuring unemployment is a tricky business.

Western Left and the US-China Contradiction
Nov 6th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Significant segments of the non-Communist Western Left see the developing contradiction between the United States and China in terms of an inter-imperialist rivalry.

Fascistic Hostility to Evidence
Oct 30th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

All fascistic outfits have one common characteristic: they reject outright all evidence that goes against the narrative they spin; and the Hindutva elements in power in India are no exception.

Genocide in Gaza
Oct 23rd 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

In response to the attack by Hamas on October 7, Israeli forces have not only pounded the Gaza strip with massive bombing, killing nearly 2000 Palestinians and wounding at least 7000 (till Friday night), but have cut off all supplies of food, electricity, gas and water to Gaza.

When Numbers are Treated as Political Weapons
Oct 19th 2023, Jayati Ghosh

India has a robust and admired statistical system. But the government is suppressing data to suit its narrative. It is perilous not to know the reality of the governed.

How to address Global Hunger
Oct 13th 2023, Jayati Ghosh

Regulating financial activity in global commodities markets, while important, is not enough to stave off rising food insecurity. Policymakers must also take measures to help developing countries build up reserves of essential items and cope with price fluctuations, possibly through a publicly administered virtual reserve mechanism.

Globalised Capital and National Leadership
Oct 9th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

One of the most intriguing questions at present is why Europe's political leadership has become complicit in what appear to be US efforts at undermining European economies.

Destroying Forests for Profits
Oct 2nd 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

The Modi government, ever solicitous of corporate interests, has launched a plan whereby real estate developers and other corporates will be allowed to destroy large swathes of India’s forest cover for starting projects that rake in profits.

On the Current Food Price Inflation in India
Sep 25th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

The current upsurge in prices in India is led by food prices. In July 2023 while retail inflation was 7.44 per cent (over July of the previous year), food price inflation, which covers all food items including foodgrains, vegetables, milk products and such like, was 11.5 per cent.

The Silences of the Delhi Declaration
Sep 18th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

The G-20 meeting in Delhi was occurring in the midst of an acute economic crisis of the world economy. The advanced capitalist economies are expected by the IMF to witness a growth slowdown from 2.7 per cent in 2022 to 1.3 per cent in 2023.

Believing One's Own False Theories
Sep 11th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Liberal bourgeois writers tend to explain the problems that arise under capitalism not by the immanent tendencies of the system but by the capriciousness of particular governments.

Behind BRICS Expansion
Sep 4th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

At the Johannesburg summit of the BRICS countries, it was decided to expand the group beyond its original five, namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, to include six more countries. These are: Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The Destruction of Universities
Aug 28th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

When BJP rule in the country is dead and gone, a good deal of the damage it has caused to the Indian society, polity and economy will no doubt be reversed. But there are at least two areas where such reversal will be difficult.

The Stalled Decolonisation
Aug 21st 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Much of the ex-colonial world, having set up dirigiste regimes to wrest control over its natural resources from metropolitan capital and to build up industries behind protectionist walls, was sought to be re-assimilated into imperialist hegemony through the neo-liberal economic order; but in one segment of this world decolonisation itself was never completed.

The IMF Bias: Signals from Pakistan
Aug 11th 2023, C.P. Chandrasekhar

On July 14 this year, the shaky government of a debt-stressed Pakistan, won itself a surprising reprieve. The country had experienced a collapse in foreign reserves to less than one month worth of imports and was on the verge of defaulting on its external debt of more than $120 billion.

The Problem with "Universal Basic Income"
Aug 7th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Many economists have been advocating a universal basic income for India, an idea that was mooted even in the official Economic Survey for 2016-17.

The Poverty of UN Poverty Estimates
Jul 31st 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

On April 3 this year, the minister of state for planning, Rao Inderjeet Singh, said in the Rajya Sabha that the government had no data after 2011-12 for estimating poverty, and therefore had no idea how many people had been lifted out of poverty since then.

The Curious Turn in India's Exports
Jul 28th 2023, C.P. Chandrasekhar

At first look, the evidence is worrying. Goods exports from India in June dropped to an 8-month low of $33 billion having fallen sharply by 22 per cent year-on-year. Moreover, that decline was not a one-off event.

A Half-hearted Effort: The G20's finance track
Jul 27th 2023, C.P. Chandrasekhar

With three middle income countries serving or designated as consecutive Presidents of the G20, it is expected to serve as a forum to advance dialogue on debt justice and climate finance. But progress may be slow and limited.

When can there be a Fall in the Rate of Profit?
Jul 24th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Several major economists have put forward theories predicting a falling tendency of the rate of profit under capitalism; Marx had seen in this fact an awareness on their part of the essential transitoriness of the capitalist system.

Why the Paris Financing Summit failed
Jul 18th 2023, Jayati Ghosh, Sandrine Dixson-Declève and Johannah Bernstein

The June 22-23 Summit for a New Global Financing Pact promised to catalyze a revolution in climate finance and empower the Global South. But it failed to meet its lofty goals, concluding without a single firm commitment or concrete proposal to help developing countries reduce their debt burden and move away from fossil fuels.

India's Conglomerates are getting too Big for Comfort
Jul 17th 2023, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Nothing, not even Hindenburg Research, seems to stop the advance of Indian big business. The Adani Group continues with its acquisitions, even if at a slower pace, and has been able to persuade financial markets to lend it more money, notwithstanding assessments that it is over-dependent on debt.

Third World External Debt in the Light of Simple Economics
Jul 17th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

India and other third world countries can morally justify their being a part of G-20 alongside the imperialist powers, only if they raise common and pressing problems of the third world as a whole at G-20 meetings.

'Shock Therapy' Sri Lankan-style
Jul 15th 2023, C.P. Chandrasekhar

On July 1, Sri Lanka's parliament approved through a majority 122-versus-62 vote, a plan to restructure the government's domestic debt totalling 15.4 trillion Sri Lankan rupees (SLR) at the end of March 2023.

Is What We have "Crony Capitalism"?
Jul 10th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Fascistic elements exist in every modern society, but usually as fringe, marginal or minor elements. They move centre-stage only when they get the support of monopoly capital which provides them with ample money and media coverage; and this happens when there is a capitalist crisis that substantially increases unemployment.

India follows the Neo-Liberal Monetary Norms: Contracting the space for financial inclusion in her economy
Jul 7th 2023, Sunanda Sen and Zico Dasgupta

Apprehensions by India and other countries of possible excesses in capital inflows and the inflationary impacts led them stiffen the domestic interest rates. The Fed, however has reversed its policy to meet domestic inflation by pitching the US Fed interest rate high.

The FCI's Bizarre Logic
Jul 3rd 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

The Karnataka government's plan to launch its "Anna Bhagya" scheme on July 1 under which it was planning to provide 10 kg of free rice per month to each family below the poverty-line has run into problems because of the Food Corporation of India's unwillingness to sell any rice to that state.

The Implications of Dollar Hegemony
Jun 26th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

How exactly is the dollar’s status as reserve currency related to imperialism? This question has two parts: how this status of the dollar is related to U.S. imperialism, and how it is related to the overall imperialist arrangement.

Pitfalls of Export-Led Growth
Jun 19th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

After Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Bangladesh has become the third country in our neighbourhood to become afflicted by a serious economic crisis. It has asked for a $4.5 billion loan from the IMF, apart from $1 billion from the World Bank and $2.5-3 billion from multilateral agencies and donor nations.

The Fertilizer Conundrum
Jun 16th 2023, Jayati Ghosh

Making the global food system more sustainable and equitable represents a huge and complex undertaking that necessarily involves difficult trade-offs. The tension between responding to short-term increases in fertilizer prices and implementing long-term strategies for combating climate change is a case in point.

The Q4 GDP Estimates for 2022-23
Jun 12th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

The estimates of India's Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter of 2023 were released on May 31. These show a growth rate of 6.1 per cent over the fourth quarter of the previous year, which is higher than the 4.4 per cent growth that the October-December quarter had recorded over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Is "De-Globalisation" Occurring?
Jun 5th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Many economists these days talk of a process of "de-globalisation" taking place; some others talk of the neoliberal regime of yesteryears no longer existing.

Exchange Rate Depreciation and Real Wages
May 29th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Most people, including even trained economists, fail to appreciate the fact that an exchange rate depreciation, if it is to work in reducing the trade deficit in a capitalist economy, must necessarily hurt the working class by lowering the real wage rate.

The US Debt Ceiling Debate
May 22nd 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Under pressure from globalised finance capital, most countries of the world have enacted legislation fixing the size of the fiscal deficit as a proportion of GDP; generally it is 3 per cent, and in India it is 3 per cent for the centre and 3 per cent for the states.

IMF - Doubling the Dose of Austerity
May 17th 2023, C.P. Chandrasekhar and Charles Abugre

In a barely noticed development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has "reformed" and extended the conditions it imposes in return for emergency balance of payments support to less developed countries with stressed external accounts.

Public Opinion and Imperialism
May 15th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

A New York Times News Service report reproduced in The Telegraph of Kolkata (May 7), discusses the findings of a global public opinion survey carried out by the Bennett Institute of Public Policy of Cambridge University.

The Grim Unemployment Scenario
May 8th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

The data on unemployment brough out by the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE) present a grim picture. Not only has the unemployment rate increased sharply for some years now, starting from even before the pandemic, but the figure which had shot up during the pandemic has not come down much despite the recovery that has occurred in the level of GDP from its trough.

Whatever happened at the Spring Meetings?
May 4th 2023, C. P. Chandrasekhar

Ministers, central bankers, officials and civil society activists returning home from Washington after the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund held in April 2023 were not clear as to what the outcomes of the meetings, however minor, were.

Threats to the Hegemony of the Dollar
May 1st 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Janet Yellen, the US treasury secretary, has finally acknowledged what has been obvious to most people for quite some time, namely that the imposition of sanctions against countries that the US is hostile to, runs the risk of jeopardising the hegemony of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

The Current State of India's Economy
Apr 24th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Government officials never tire of repeating that India is currently the fastest growing major economy in the world. What they never mention is the fact that India had witnessed perhaps the sharpest absolute drop in GDP among the major economies of the world in 2020-21.

OPEC+ and Capitalism's Fight against Inflation
Apr 17th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Except in war-time, capitalism invariably seeks to control inflation by creating a recession; and this is so even when the inflation has been caused by an autonomous increase in capitalists' profit-margins which are downward inflexible and hence would not be reduced by a recession.

The Rubber Farmers' Woes
Apr 10th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Rubber prices, which had recovered a little after the fall during the pandemic, have collapsed again, with the farmers in Kerala, which grows 80 per cent of the country's rubber crop, being badly hit.

A Common Misconception about Capitalism
Apr 3rd 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

There is a commonly-held view that while capitalism in its early stages brings about unemployment and hence an accentuation of poverty, this initial damage is subsequently reversed as it keeps growing.

A Systemic or Fleeting Crisis?
Mar 31st 2023, Rana Mitra

The month of March 2023 has come out to be yet another nightmarish experience for the world of global finance, after the collapse of Washington Mutual and Lehman Brothers in September 2008.

Women's Work is not Valued Properly
Mar 30th 2023, Interview with Jayati Ghosh by Sudipta Datta

In her 2022 book, The Making of a Catastrophe (Aleph), on the disastrous economic fallout of COVID-19, Indian development economist Jayati Ghosh writes that job losses and food insecurity were significantly higher for women.

The Collapse of US Banks
Mar 27th2023, Prabhat Patnaik

There is nothing mysterious about the reasons for the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank and the Signature Bank in the United States.

The "Hindu Rate of Growth": Then and now
Mar 20th2023, Prabhat Patnaik

For a large part of the dirigiste period, the gross domestic product of the Indian economy grew at a rate of around 4 per cent per annum or less, which, though an improvement compared to the colonial era that had witnessed virtual stagnation, was not very impressive.

What Caused the Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and is there a Danger of 'Contagion'?
Mar 18th 2023, C.P. Chandrasekhar | Podcast

C.P. Chandrasekhar speaks to us about the Silicon Valley Bank crisis and whether the financial contagion is likely to spread to India and other countries.

Imperialism and Natural Resources
Mar 13th2023, Prabhat Patnaik

There is an overwhelming asymmetry between the level of "development" and the possession of natural resources among countries of the world. Take the group of most advanced countries, the G-7 comprising the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada.

Analysing the Adani Debacle
Mar 6th2023, Sunanda Sen

It comes close to a fairytale as one starts narrating the meteoric rise and fall of the Adani Group in terms of its changing fortunes or valuations in the market.

Treating Infrastructure as a Holy Cow
Mar 6th2023, Prabhat Patnaik

There is an impression shared by even progressive intellectuals that the entity that goes by the name of ''physical infrastructure'' is an absolute necessity in each country, and that the actual amount of infrastructure that exists is always less than what is needed.

Can Investments be Free of Risk?
Feb 22nd 2023, Jayati Ghosh and Anand Srinivasan

Recently, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court put forth the idea of setting up an expert committee that could recommend ways to protect common investors from market events.

The Crisis of India's Oligarchy
Feb 22nd 2023, Jayati Ghosh

Over the past two decades, Indian multi-billionaire Gautam Adani's close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi have helped the Gujarati businessman become Asia's wealthiest person.

Finance Minister's Misleading Statement
Feb 20th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

A strike on the Adani group by short-seller the U.S.-based Hindenburg Research has led to the unravelling of the Gautam Adani story, which celebrated the spectacular rise, in an extremely short period of time, of the wealth of a man and his business empire.

The Adani Story and Indian Neoliberalism
Feb 15th 2023, C.P. Chandrasekhar

A strike on the Adani group by short-seller the U.S.-based Hindenburg Research has led to the unravelling of the Gautam Adani story, which celebrated the spectacular rise, in an extremely short period of time, of the wealth of a man and his business empire.

"Crony Capitalism" As an Economic Strategy
Feb 13th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Gautam Adani's calling Hindenburg's allegations of fraud against him an attack on the Indian nation is a matter of particular significance. Just before this episode, the BBC documentary on Modi had been labelled a product of the colonial mindset by the government and hence also construed to be an attack on the Indian nation.

The 'Rent Good' and Imperialism
Jan 30th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

Economic theory makes much of "rent goods". A "rent good" is one whose supply cannot be augmented at will, simply through investing more on its production; its supply is subject to constraints imposed by nature, because of which there is a certain maximum rate of long-run growth which is exogenously given and cannot be altered at will.

Bad Debt and Public Ownership
Jan 27th 2023, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The semi-annual Financial Stability Report from India's central bank signals that India's banking system, especially the public banking system, has put behind it the stress from disturbingly high non-performing or bad loans on its books.

The Abuse of the Concept of "Populism"
Jan 23rd 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

All regimes based on class antagonism require a discourse to legitimise class oppression and this discourse in turn requires a vocabulary of its own. The neoliberal regime too has developed its own discourse and vocabulary and a key concept in this vocabulary is "populism".

Davos Man Must Pay
Jan 18th 2023, Jayati Ghosh

To mitigate the worst effects of climate change and prevent societal breakdown, we must shift to renewable energies and reduce extreme inequality. But doing so would require massive increases in public spending, which is why governments must overhaul their outdated and regressive tax systems.

How not to Deal with a Debt Crisis
Jan 18th 2023, Jayati Ghosh

Jayati Ghosh warns against historically disastrous approaches to the sovereign-debt crisis hitting low- and middle-income countries.

The Impending World Recession
Jan 16th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

The IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has now openly admitted that the year 2023 will witness the slowing down of the world economy to a point where as much as one-third of it will see an actual contraction in gross domestic product.

Storm Clouds over India’s Balance of Payments
Jan 9th 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

India's current account deficit for the second quarter (July-September) of 2022-23 has reached a massive $36.4 billion which is 4.4 per cent of the gross domestic product, higher than at any time in the last nine years.

Imperialism and the Agrarian Crisis
Jan 2nd 2023, Prabhat Patnaik

The hegemony of imperialism is invariably associated with an agrarian crisis in countries of the global south; in fact agrarian crisis is just the other side of the ascendancy of imperialism. This is evident from the case of Indian agriculture.

India's Creeping Industrial Stagnation
Dec 26th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

There has been much discussion in public about the index of industrial production for October 2022 being 4 per cent lower than the index for October 2021; and quite rightly so, since no obvious explanations like a Covid-induced lockdown or even its residual lingering effects can be adduced to explain this fall.

On Income and Wealth Inequality
Dec 19th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The fact that income and wealth inequalities have increased quite dramatically under the neo-liberal regime is beyond dispute. The empirical work by Piketty’s team bears out the increase in income inequality. They use income tax data to infer about the share of the top 1 per cent of the population of a country in its national income.

The Real Failure at Sharm El-Sheikh
Dec 13th 2022, C.P. Chandrasekhar

As COP27, the climate summit at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, ended after a being prolonged, assessments of what it achieved were mixed. But the overwhelming sense was that the summit had yielded little, since on most counts it had not gone beyond the pledges agreed to at COP26 held in Glasgow last year and incorporated in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

The Working Class under Neo-Liberalism
Dec 12th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

A Neo-liberal regime entails a spontaneous change in the balance of class power against the working class everywhere. This happens for a number of reasons. First, since capital becomes globally mobile while labour is not, such globally mobile capital gets an opportunity to pit the working class of one country against that of another.

The Fiscal Requirement of a Welfare State
Dec 5th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The post-second world war period had seen a spate of welfare state measures in the advanced capitalist countries, especially in Europe, in emulation of what the Soviet Union was effecting.

The Collapse of FTX
Nov 28th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The large cryptocurrency exchange FTX went out of business on November 11. Many have likened this phenomenon to the collapse of the investment banking firm Lehman Brothers during the financial crisis of 2008, believing the FTX collapse to be as important an event in the cryptocurrency world as the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the official financial system.

The Outflow of Finance from the Periphery
Nov 21st 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

There are two defining and portentous features of the current world economic situation. One, which is well discussed, is the world-wide increase in interest rates in response to the pervasive inflationary upsurge; it would indubitably generate recession and unemployment, which, notwithstanding all protestations to the contrary, is the real objective behind it.

Economics and Dishonesty
Nov 14th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

Economics is a subject where the ruling classes are forever trying to promote ideologically-motivated explanations in lieu of scientific ones. These explanations of course can be, and have been, fitted into an integrated totality of an alternative non-scientific theoretical structure that Marx had called "vulgar economy" as distinct from classical political economy.

The Unfolding Global Crisis
Nov 10th 2022, C. P. Chandrasekhar

The IMF's most recent World Economic Outlook, released in time for the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington, presents a confusing picture of what shapes the present global conjuncture.

The Triumph of the City?
Nov 7th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The triumph of the City of London, the one square kilometre next to Liverpool Street station that houses the citadel of British finance, is complete. Not only did it get rid of one British prime minister, whom it distrusted, in the space of just 44 days, but even got a new one of its choice installed forthwith.

Whatever Happened to Liz Truss?
Oct 31st 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The most intriguing question with regard to Liz Truss’ resignation as the prime minister of Britain after a mere 44 days in office is this: what is it about her economic programme that the ''market'' (read ''finance capital'') found unpalatable? At its core after all was tax-cuts for the rich, which the ''market'' should have lapped up.

Hunger and Poverty
Oct 24th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) for 2022 has just come out, which shows India occupying the 107th position among the 121 countries for which the index is prepared (countries where hunger is not a noteworthy problem are left out of the index).

The OPEC's Decision to Cut Oil Output
Oct 17th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

What is called OPEC+, that is the 13 members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) together with 11 other petroleum exporting countries led by Russia, decided on October 5 to cut their oil production by 2 million barrels per day, starting from November.

The New Threat on the Foreign Exchange Front
Oct 3rd 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

On September 23, the value of the rupee vis-à-vis the dollar fell to a new low: it crossed 81 to a dollar after some weeks of relative stability when it hovered between 79 and 80. And it fell despite the Reserve Bank's running down of foreign exchange reserves in a bid to hold up its value.

Europe's Economic Hara-Kiri
Sep 26th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The cessation of natural gas supplies from Russia to Europe in retaliation against Western sanctions imposed on Russia because of the Ukraine war, is threatening Europe not only with a winter with inadequate heating that will take a big toll in terms of lives among poor people, but also with large-scale closures of enterprises; such closures would push up the unemployment rate, and significantly increase poverty and destitution among the workers.

The Huge Danger Associated with Privatising Banks
Sep 19th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

There are fundamental objections to the plan of the government to privatise at least some of the public sector banks. They centre around the fact that such a move will change the pattern of deployment of credit, away from productive activities towards speculation, away from peasant agriculture towards big business (with dangerous implications for peasant viability, food security and employment), and away from domestic to global destinations.

Bank Privatization and the Never-finished Neoliberal Agenda
Sep 12th 2022, C. P. Chandrasekhar

The long-standing debate on whether India's public sector banks should be privatized has resurfaced in recent days. Two articles, besides numerous statements from advocates of 'reform', triggered this round of debate—one wittingly and the other, perhaps unwittingly.

First Quarter GDP Estimates for 2022-23
Sep 12th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The estimates of Gross Domestic Product for the April-June quarter released by the government on August 31 paint a dismal picture of the Indian economy. Since the GDP in real terms (at 2011-12 prices) shows an increase of 13.5 per cent over the first quarter GDP a year ago, and since 13.5 per cent appears an impressive figure, official spokespersons have been putting a cheerful gloss over it.

Controlling Inflation at the Expense of Working Class
Sep 5th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

Economists distinguish between two kinds of inflation: "demand-pull" and "cost-push". Demand-pull inflation is said to occur when there is excess demand in a situation where supply cannot be augmented, because full capacity output has been reached in one or more crucial sectors.

On Loan apps and Crypto Criminals
Aug 31st 2022, C. P. Chandrasekhar

India's enforcement directorate, still preoccupied with unearthing corruption and money laundering among opposition politicians, has decided to turn its attention to those involved in the crypto business in the country as well.

The Modi Government and the So-Called "Freebies"
Aug 29th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

A Bizarre drama is unfolding in front of our eyes. The Modi government which has been giving away hundreds of thousands of crores of rupees as tax concessions to the monopolists has expressed its opposition ironically to what it calls "freebies", that is to handing over subsidies to other segments of the population.

Sanctions and the Decline of the Dollar
Aug 22nd 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The hegemony of the US dollar was based on the fact that the world's wealth-holders considered it to be "as good as gold", even when it was no longer officially convertible to gold at a fixed rate, as it had been under the Bretton Woods system, after the collapse of that system.

Underestimating the Unemployment Crisis
Jul 25th 2022, C. P. Chandrasekhar

India is experiencing a job market crisis. Applicants for preferred jobs outnumber vacancies by numbers that make the process a lottery. The qualifications of these applicants far exceed the skills or knowledge required by many jobs.

Scandinavia and Imperialism
Jul 18th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

There are many misconceptions about Scandinavian capitalism. A very common one is the belief that since the Scandinavian countries developed vigorous capitalist economies, without ever having acquired any colonies of their own, they constitute a clear refutation of the claim that capitalist development necessarily requires imperialism.

The Rupee's Fall: Is this time different?
Jul 11th 2022, C. P. Chandrasekhar

All is not quiet on India's external economic front. The rupee seems to be on a trajectory of accelerating decline, with its value relative to the dollar (as per the Reserve Bank of India's reference rate) falling from Rs. 76.4 at the beginning of April to Rs. 79.1 at the beginning of July.

COVID and the Broken Global Order
Jun 27th 2022, C. P. Chandrasekhar

When the COVID pandemic affected every one of the world's nations, the way forward seemed obvious, even if difficult to traverse. Given the rapid spread of the disease and its severity that overwhelmed long neglected health systems, and the cost to lives and livelihoods that shutdowns of economic and social activity implied, quick access to drugs and vaccines to manage the pandemic were crucial.

Danger Signals from the Crypto Casino
Jun 24th 2022, C. P. Chandrasekhar

The meltdown in May 2022 in the cryptocurrency world, in which the values of digital coins plunged and rendered some near-worthless, is a wake-up call. It once again shows that cryptocurrencies are nothing but a bunch of insubstantial, digital 'bits' created by speculators as 'coins' for speculation.

"Heads I Win, Tails You Lose"
Jun 20th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The craftiness of imperialism is boundless. In several countries of the world at present there are neo-fascist governments, propped up by their respective big bourgeoisies (all aligned to globalized capital), and implementing neo-liberal policies with their characteristic ruthlessness; in many other countries there are neo-fascist outfits attempting to get into power by promising to their big bourgeois patrons that they would do the same if in power.

The Indian Economy is Heading for a Stationary State
Jun 13th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

Adam Smith and David Ricardo had been haunted by the idea of capitalism ending up in a "stationary state", by which they meant a stable state of zero growth. Marx used the term "simple reproduction" to describe such a state, where there is no net addition to production capacity and the economy just reproduces itself at the same level period after period.

Neo-Liberalism and Anti-Inflationary Policy
Jun 6th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

Central banks all over the capitalist world are raising, or are about to raise, interest rates as a means of countering the currently rampant inflation, which is certain to push a world economy that is barely recovering from the effect of the pandemic, back towards stagnation and greater unemployment.

Tendency towards the Emergence of an "International" Middle Class
May 30th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The chancellor of the exchequer of Britain, whose official residence is only next door to the British prime minister's, is Rishi Sunak, a person of Indian origin. Britain's home secretary is Priti Patel, also of Indian origin.

The New Thrust of Fiscal Conservatism
May 20th 2022, C.P. Chandrasekhar

In a new turn to its advocacy of a conservative fiscal stance amidst a recession, the International Monetary Fund in the April 2022 edition of its "Global Financial Stability Report" has called for reining in bank credit to governments as a way of weakening the sovereign–bank nexus that was strengthened during the pandemic and ostensibly threatens bank stability.

The Collapse of the India's creative Industries
May 19th 2022, Jayati Ghosh

There is no doubt that creative industries, along with care activities, are going to emerge as some of the most significant economic sectors of the future. Broadly speaking, the creative industries consist of advertising, architecture, arts and crafts, design, fashion, film, video, photography, music, performing arts, publishing, research & development, software, computer games, electronic publishing, and TV/radio.

The Inhumanity of Capitalism
May 16th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

For over two years now, the world has been facing a pandemic the like of which has not been seen for a century, and which has already taken 15 million lives according to the WHO, without being anywhere near an end.

Fiddling While India's Workers Burn
May 11th 2022, Jayati Ghosh

More frequent and intense heat waves are poised to become bigger killers in the Indian subcontinent than the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But the government is essentially leaving people to fend for themselves in a foreseeable tragedy, and envisages continued investment in fossil fuels for decades to come.

Food and Decolonisation
May 9th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

Russia and Ukraine together account for 30 per cent of the world’s wheat exports. Many African countries, in particular, are heavily dependent on them for their food supplies, which are now getting disrupted because of the war; and this disruption would continue since the war is also affecting the acreage being sown under foodgrains there.

Limits of a High Interest Rate Policy as Initiated in India
May 9th 2022, Sunanda Sen

The announcement, on May 4, for a 40 bp raise in the policy Repo rate along with a 50 basis point rise in the cash-reserve ratio by the Reserve Bank of India is claimed officially as a measure to put a rein to current inflation, currently fuelled by the rising food prices rising at 7.68%, oil and fats at 18.79% and vegetables at 11.64% over the same month.

A World Economy in Disarray
May 2nd 2022, C. P. Chandrasekhar

When the world's financial leaders met mid-April at Washington for the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the mood was one of gloom.

Reflections on the Sri Lankan Economic Crisis
May 2nd 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

So much has been written on the Sri Lankan economic crisis that the facts are by now quite well-known (see for instance C P Chandrasekhar, Frontline April 22): the massive build-up of external debt; the huge Value Added Tax concessions that pushed up the fiscal deficit and made the government borrow abroad even to spend domestically;

Crisis in an Island Economy
Apr 6th 2022, C. P. Chandrasekhar

Sri Lanka's economy is sliding into chaos afflicted with multiple crises, triggered by a steep fall in foreign exchange revenues during the Covid pandemic, a difficult to manage external debt servicing burden, a collapse in the volume of foreign exchange reserves, and finally the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine.

The Hike in Petrol Prices
Apr 4th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

In the five days ending March 26, petrol and diesel prices in the country had been hiked four times, with more such daily hikes in the offing. On each occasion the hike had been by 80 paise per litre, so that the total increase during the week had been Rs 3.20 per litre, bringing the price per litre of petrol to Rs 98.61 and of diesel to Rs 89.87 in the capital city, Delhi.

The Irony of Sanctions against Russia
Mar 28th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The juggling which US imperialism has to do to maintain its hegemony becomes more bizarre by the day. First, it kept needling Russia ("provoking the bear") "on behalf of the western alliance" by expanding NATO to its very borders, knowing full well that Ukraine's joining NATO would be totally unacceptable to Russia.

The Fragility of Contemporary Capitalism
Mar 21st 2022, C.P. Chandrasekhar

While the world remains preoccupied with the geopolitical and humanitarian fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, its economic consequences are increasingly a matter for concern.

Globalisation and the Relocation of Capital and Labour
Mar 21st 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The relocation of capital from the advanced capitalist countries of the north to low- wage countries of the south in the current era of globalisation has received much attention; but there is another kind of relocation that has not received as much attention, and that is of labour from comparatively lower-wage countries of Eastern Europe to the advanced capitalist countries.

Sanctions within a Regime of Neo-liberalism
Mar 14th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

Before joining the neo-liberal order, India used to have "rupee payment arrangements" with the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist countries under which the main international reserve currency, the US dollar, was used neither for settling transactions nor even as the unit of account in terms of which the trade-related transactions were denominated.

The IMF Connection with the Ukraine Crisis
Mar 7th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The IMF, it follows, has changed dramatically since its foundation. When it began at Bretton Woods in 1944, it was part of an international system based on the pursuit of a dirigiste economic agenda.

Imperialism as an Abiding Phenomenon
Feb 28th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

Neocolonialism was a good fit for the 1950s and 1960s. The word "imperialism" is no longer applicable because recent years have been marked by peaceful discussions between countries rather than coercion by some over others.

An Unimaginable Contrast
Feb 21st 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

Much has been written about the immense increase in economic inequality that has occurred of late and various startling figures have been provided by bodies like Oxfam, which has just come out with a report titled Inequality Kills.

Why Capitalist Governments Worry More about Inflation than Unemployment?
Feb 14th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

Capitalist regimes will always try to control inflation by increasing unemployment.This has nothing to do with any belief in a stable "trade-off" between the two, i.e., a stable curve connecting the two.

Social Sciences and the Colonised Mind
Jan 24th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

A crucial component of the imperialist system is the colonisation of third world minds. It incapacitates critical thinking on how to solve social problems. A critical component of this colonisation is a narrative about social development that insulates colonialism or imperialism as causal factors.

Financial Markets Under Capitalism
Jan 17th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

Keynes argued that the operation of the financial market under capitalism was deeply flawed and the distribution of investible resources could not be left to it. The Indian government is so utterly mindless that it is planning to hand over a largely State-owned banking system to private capitalists, thereby exposing the system to the threat of collapse.

Co-lending: Towards recolonising the peasantry
Jan 10th 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

The SBI-Adani deal is a way of changing the pattern of land use in agriculture by channelling government institutional credit through the domestic corporate-financial oligarchy. Such nationalised banks-NBFC deals are aimed at achieving what the farm laws could not achieve; these must be vehemently opposed.

Yet Another Contradiction of Capitalism
Jan 3rd 2022, Prabhat Patnaik

Keynes believed that mass unemployment under capitalism could be prevented through state intervention; but even in the US, the ability of the State to stimulate domestic economic activity has become constrained. This is a new basic contradiction that has emerged in world capitalism and deserves serious attention.

Co-lending: Another bonanza for private capital
Dec 28th 2021, C. P. Chandrasekhar

SBI's partnership with Adani Capital is yet another instance of leveraging a public sector financial behemoth to promote the interests of a private group. As in all public-private partnerships under capitalism, the public sector will bear the risk and cost of investment, while the private sector will share the rewards generated through it.

Privatisation and the Constitution
Dec 27th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The Modi government is abandoning the basic social philosophy underlying the constitutions through its agenda of privatisation and monetisation of public sector assets. The proposed privatisation of public enterprises is the most scandalous instance of corruption in post-independence India.

US Inflation and India's Economic Recovery
Dec 20th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

Accelerating inflation in the US economy is going to cast a further shadow on India's economic recovery which is already threatened by the persistently depressed levels of consumption. The finance ministry, however, blithely ignored this aspect while making its fantastic claims about recovery in India.

India's Post-pandemic Economic Recovery
Dec 13th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

While the government claims that the Indian economy is displaying a robust recovery with double digit growth rates, it is only natural that the economy will bounce back to normal after a trough. But when compared to the pre-pandemic fiscal year, the economy is actually on a downward trend.

The Strangulation of the MGNREGS
Dec 6th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

No matter how government spending is financed, a rupee of government expenditure is better spent on the MGNREGS than on any other expenditure item. The Modi government alas is too blind to see this.

Fears of a New Era
Nov 30th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Signs of investor reticence are visible across all emerging markets. There is a more serious fear of the exit of foreign investors from equity and bond markets, consequent to a readjustment of monetary policy in the advanced economies. Indian stock markets are faltering as well, yet India is one of the better performers.

The Peasantry's Victory over Imperialism
Nov 29th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The significance of the kisan movement extends beyond the immediate context. It obviously is a climbdown by the Modi government in the face of the incredible resoluteness shown by the agitating peasants. At another level it has been a setback for the neoliberal agenda that the farm laws were seeking to promote.

Fiscal Folly
Nov 22nd 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The Modi government has been raising taxes on petro-products to finance government spending; this has led to the dual effect of not stimulating the economy, but the inflation levels. If instead, the expenditure was financed by a tax on the rich, it would have both stimulated the economy and kept inflation levels down.

The Feminist Building-blocks of a Just, Sustainable Economy
Nov 19th 2021, Jayati Ghosh

UN Women has produced a clear and pervasive blueprint on the Feminist Plan for Sustainability and Social Justice, which puts much-needed flesh on the bare bones of a feminist approach to the economy, relevant to the contemporary world. Now the task is to do it.

The Rich World's Climate Hypocrisy
Nov 16th 2021, Jayati Ghosh

Global leaders, especially in the developed world, still fail to grasp the gravity of the climate challenge. Although they acknowledge its severity in their speeches, they mostly pursue short-term national interests, without clear and immediate commitments to act.

The Scourge of Demonetisation
Nov 15th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

No single economic measure in post-independence India has been as devastating and as utterly futile as the demonetisation of currency notes, decreed by the Modi government in 2016. That it did not achieve its stated objectives was not unforeseen, rather it was quite obvious.

Misconceptions about Agriculture
Nov 8th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The kisan agitation against corporate encroachment is not a bilateral issue. In the process of fighting against corporate encroachment the kisans are fighting objectively for society as a whole, against subjecting India to food imperialism.

India's Coal Crisis
Nov 5th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Coal inventories with thermal power plants in India had recently fallen to levels at which major country-wide power outages seemed inevitable. Although it has, fortunately, not materialized yet, why such a situation should arise in the country with the 5th largest coal reserves, is the question.

The Homogenization of Education
Nov 1st 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

Education in independent India was supposed to build organic intellectuals; therefore, its curriculum should be rooted in the reality of the country and not imitative of the metropolis. But the exact opposite is happening under neoliberal globalization and the Modi government's NEP further advances the homogenization of education.

Food Stocks, Bio-fuels and Hunger
Oct 25th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The Modi government's attempt to explain India's slipping from 94 in 2020 to 101 in 2021 on the world hunger index, by questioning its methodology is jejune enough; but even more shocking is its total inability to see the reason behind the acute hunger in the country.

Measuring Unemployment Trends in India
Oct 18th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

In India only a tiny segment of work-force has full-time employment; there is no close correspondence between the magnitude of work and the number of working people. Thus, official statistics in India have for long used not one, but several measures of unemployment, but none of them is any good at capturing unemployment trends.

IMF: The business of Doing Business
Oct 15th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The weeks preceding the IMF and World Bank meetings have been spent discussing whether Kristalina Georgieva should step down from her current position as the IMF MD owing to the 2018 Doing Business controversy, instead of discussing important issues such as the debt crisis, vaccine inequality or climate change.

The Real Rot at the IMF
Oct 13th 2021, Jayati Ghosh

The Doing Business controversy has shaken the confidence in the Bretton Wood institutions, but it must not obscure the real problems with their functioning - the disproportionate power of the US; the IMF's deeply procyclical approach to countries that seek its support, and the G7 advanced economies' unwillingness to address global problems.

Finance Capital and the World Economy
Oct 11th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

Neo-liberalism implies a shift from wages to surplus that depresses the level of aggregate demand, leading to an over-production crisis. Since fiscal conservatism in neo-liberal economies prevents State spending, the only possible counter is provided by asset price bubbles that can boost demand in the short run.um.

China's Evergrande Conundrum
Oct 4th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

China's Evergrande group is the world's most indebted property company with accumulated liabilities in excess of $300 billion. Although the company enjoys a grace period to avoid being in default and the government is expected to intervene, would the government relent, that is the Evergrande conundrum.

Peasants and the Revolution
Oct 4th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

There have been significant developments in Marxist theory regarding the revolutionary role of peasantry in the transcendence of capitalism. The peasant struggle in India too is not an ordinary one; it compels the government to openly declare who it stands with - the people or international big business.

IMF's Issue of Fresh SDRs
Sep 27th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The freshly issued SDRs by the IMF would provide only a temporary comfort for the heavily indebted third world countries and most of it will go into the private financial institutions who are the creditors of the third world debts.

Time is Running out for a New Agricultural Model for the Global South
Sep 21st 2021, Jayati Ghosh

Climate change poses immediate threat to humanity. Unsustainable cultivation patterns along with climate change have affected food security and caused widespread hunger. These issues are too urgent to be allowed to go unresolved.

Carbon Markets: Another frontier for finance
Sep 20th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

A price rise in the emission trading market should be welcomed as it would trigger emissions reduction. However, prices of EU allowance seem to be rising not only due to excess demand, but also because of the entry of financial firms wanting to play with this new commodity, carbon, and the tradable securities deriving from it.

The Unravelling of the Modi Arrangement
Sep 20th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

Liberal commentators related Modi's rise with the ascendency of Hindutva. However, Modi rose to power through this ascendency as the person who cemented the corporate-Hindutva alliance, meditating between corporate capital and the RSS. Modi is an intermediary used by the Indian big bourgeoisie to bring about this alliance.

Asset Monetisation for Infrastructural Investment: An illogical plan
Sep 14th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Announced with much fanfare as an innovative means of financing green field infrastructural projects, the NDA government’s asset monetisation plan raises concerns regarding potential returns over long term investments and collateral effects that adversely affect consumers and workers.

Everything for Sale
Sep 13th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

Everywhere in the world, public assets that provide basic services to the people, are virtually free, but no longer in India. Behind this bizarre Indian exceptionalism is the Modi government's peculiar agenda to turn everything into a commodity. Nothing is sacrosanct, nothing is hallowed, nothing transcends the market; everything is for sale.

The Scandal of Old-age Pensions
Sep 6th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

Any increase in the amount of monthly pension given by the centre to the elderly under the National Social Assistance Programme has been ruled out in the parliament. This paltry sum offered to aged citizens is not even inflation adjusted and has not changed in years. Moreover, many people who should be receiving it do not even do so.

Neo-liberalism and Nationhood
Aug 30th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The anti-colonial nationalism that informed the struggle for liberation in third world countries was of an entirely different genre from the bourgeois nationalism of seventeenth century Europe. However, there is a tendency in the West to treat all "nationalism" as a homogeneous and reactionary category.

Mexico's Turn away from Neo-liberalism
Aug 23rd 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

President Lopez Obrador of Mexico has been putting in place a range of economic changes that represent a turn away from neoliberalism and re-institution of a dirigiste regime. Unsurprisingly, he is being attacked by the Western press for this temerity.

ESG Investing: A costly distraction
Aug 22nd 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

ESG investment is much the rage among high net worth investors who are happy to address social and environmental issues, while building a portfolio that enhances their wealth, but misleading hype about ESG investing that rides on public concern to garner private profit is hardly what we need.

The Household and the State
Aug 16th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The erroneous analogy drawn between the household and the state is meant to keep fiscal deficit and hence, government expenditure restrained, even in situations of mass unemployment owing to a deficiency of aggregate demand and this analogy is, thus, extremely dangerous.

Apocalypse or Cooperation?
Aug 12th 2021, Jayati Ghosh

The perfect storm of Covid-19 and climate change delivers the glaring message that the apocalypse is now. The novel coronavirus mutates into more transmissible, drug-resistant variants, while climate catastrophe plays out in real time.

Videocon tells a Story
Aug 11th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Videocon has been in news lately because of the twists and turns the bankruptcy proceedings following its default on a pile of debt has been through. These proceedings question the integrity of the IBC that has been deemed as a game-changer in the resolution of accumulated bad debt in Indian banks.

Equality and Scarcity
Aug 9th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

Long queues of consumers in socialist economies were a source of derision in the West and were attributed to the inefficiency of the socialist system. However, it was not caused by any inefficiencies; it reflected the fact that the system was concerned about keeping down the inequality in income distribution.

A Blot on the Nation
Aug 6th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The UAPA is a blot on the nation. In no civilized nation can the State pick up literally anybody and imprison them for years without trial or bail; and if the person is found innocent, there is no question of the State being obliged to compensate them for their lost years. This is exactly what the UAPA does.

Three Decades of Economic Liberalization
Aug 2nd 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

30 years since the adoption of neoliberal policies, the belief that liberalization greatly boosted India's GDP growth rate even though it increased inequality, is commonly accepted by not just the votaries of liberalization, but even its critics. However, that is an entirely wrong perception.

The Neoliberal Reforms of 1991 didn't Work as Claimed
Jul 26th 2021, Jayati Ghosh

There is a common trope, fed especially to generations born after 1991, that economic progress and modernization in India really occurred only after ‘liberalizing' economic reforms were introduced three decades ago. This is a travesty of the truth; progress in India has been minimal or even non-existent.

The Nationalisation of Banks in 1969
Jul 26th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

On July 19, 1969, 14 major Indian banks were nationalised. Today, after 52 years, it is important since the issue of privatisation of banks cannot be discussed without reference to this perspective.

The Global Minimum Corporate Tax: Not high enough, not fair enough
Jul 24th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Following years of negotiations, most nations have now agreed on the need of a global minimum corporate tax rate to prevent multinationals from evading taxation in the jurisdictions in which they operate. While this is a step forward, it is disappointingly short of what is needed and possible.

Vaccines: Europe will regret privileging profits over people
Jul 24th 2021, Jayati Ghosh

Europe should realize that their own governments are operating against their own interests to suit Big Pharma. The pandemic will not be over until global mass vaccination is completed. So even without an international solidarity, it is in the self-interest of Europeans to demand that their governments put people above profits.

Neo-liberalism and the Extreme Right
Jul 19th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

There has been an upsurge of extreme right-wing, fascist parties worldwide in a manner reminiscent of the 1930s. Fascist governments invariably serve the interests of monopoly capital. However the contemporary extreme right movements eschew any Right-radical rhetoric from the very beginning, unlike their earlier counterparts.

Profiting from Debt
Jul 12th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

In a stealthy game played over two decades, corporate India is walking away with huge wealth transfers, largely from the public banking system. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has not been able to help banks recover the loans they have given major corporate players, who with impunity have just refused to service those liabilities.

Is Socialisation of Investment Enough
Jul 5th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

Keynes believed that mass unemployment was the chief flaw in the capitalist system; it could lead to its rejection and hence supersession. He thought socialisation of investment within the capitalist system was enough to overcome its flaws and socialism was unnecessary.

The G7's Tax Reform could entrench Global Inequality
Jul 3rd 2021, Jayati Ghosh

The tax proposal decided at the G7 meeting has been hailed as 'historic' and 'transformative', but unfortunately its neither. Changes need to be made by the G20, if there is to be any serious global tax reform.

The State and the Digital Giants
Jun 30th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The NDA government has decided to further tighten its regulation of e-commerce. The amendments go beyond strengthening consumer protection per se. The intent seems to be to rein in dominant players in an area and to exert control on how the large volume of data on suppliers and customers that e-commerce entities gather, is used.

The Poverty of Economic Conservatism
Jun 28th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

During the pandemic when millions lost their incomes and livelihood support, the Modi government did not provide any cash transfer to the people. This niggardliness is born out of a blind faith in policy conservatism, the bankruptcy of which is now visible to all.

G7: Promising more from less
Jun 26th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

While the global minimum tax proposal in the finance minister's communique before the G7 summit is a step forward, it is disappointingly short of what is needed and possible. Yet it caught the media's almost-undivided attention, because it speaks of a new effort by the richest nations to transform fiscal rules in search of revenues.

A Crumb from the G-7 Table
Jun 21st 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The G-7 countries have promised to donate a billion anti-Covid vaccine doses to developing countries, which although sounds a lot, is, in reality, a meagre amount compared to what the advanced capitalist countries have hoarded or need for their own population.

Property Rights and Pandemic Deaths
Jun 14th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

For universal vaccination to become a reality a massive increase in output is required and what stands in the way of it is capitalist property right. Despite largely using public funds to develop the Covid-19 vaccines, a few multinational drug companies wish to cling to their monopoly positions to profiteer from human misery.

The Case of the Missing Vaccines
Jun 7th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

As India faces an acute vaccine shortage, the erroneous impression is being made that it is due to a sudden spurt in vaccine demand as vaccination is now open for 18-44 group as well. However, the excess demand for vaccines is not from the demand side as presumed, but from the supply side.

The Proposal for a Minimum Global Corporate Tax Rate
May 31st 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The Biden administration and its huge stimulus package which is to be financed by raising corporate tax rates, represents a shift from neoliberalism. The consequences of imposition of austerity on the third world, even as social democratic measures are implemented in the metropolis, are yet to be seen.

Destitution, Hunger and the Lockdown
May 24th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The sudden nation-wide lockdown implemented on March 24, 2020 brought acute hardship to millions of the working poor; no compensation was offered to the people for their loss in livelihoods and they were pushed into a situation of income loss, destitution and hunger.

Patents versus the People
May 17th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

Patents work by creating an artificial scarcity so that innovating firms earn supernormal profits. But the anti-Covid vaccines were developed through public funded research and not by private firm's money. When thousands are dying around the world, saving lives has priority over firms’ profits, for which patents on vaccines must be removed.

Down the Rabbit Hole: Asset reconstruction companies and the bad debt of Indian banks
May 15th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The government is planning to establish an Asset Reconstruction Company to take over bad debt from the books of public sector banks for eventual disposal, so as to postpone the problem of bad debt resolution and to avoid having to recapitalise the banks with budgetary resources, which would widen the central fiscal deficit.

Financial Fragility in "Mature" Markets
May 15th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

With rising non-financial corporate debt and evidence of elevated borrowing levels among non-bank financial companies, the fragility resulting from excess leverage has returned to haunt developed country financial markets.

For Free Universal Vaccination Against Covid-19
May 10th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The Modi government has mindlessly liberalized vaccine distribution, compelling state governments and private hospitals to buy vaccines directly from firms at prices determined by the latter, when the fury of the pandemic is raging and urgent vaccination is necessary.

Next Steps for a People's Vaccine
May 8th 2021, Jayati Ghosh

The Biden administration's decision to stop opposing a proposed COVID-19 waiver of certain intellectual-property rights under WTO rules is a welcome move. But ending the pandemic also requires scaling up knowledge and technology transfer, as well as public production of vaccine supplies.

An Issue of Lives Versus Livelihoods
May 6th 2021, Sunanda Sen

With lockdowns being imposed again, a large number of informal workers, including migrants, will lose their livelihoods and face a bleak future again like they did last year. That the situations faced by India's migrants are not a matter of concern in policy making is quite apparent.

Economic Divergence Gone Awry
May 5th 2021, C. P. Chandrasekhar

With ambition restricted to the core, there is little hope of an adequate recovery from the pandemic, let alone a Green, Resilient and Inclusive one in the periphery. The grossly unequal vaccine access will perpetuate the pandemic's adverse effects for quite some time to come.

The Scandal of Covid-vaccine Pricing
May 3rd 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

When the country is grappling with the worst health crisis it has faced in a century, the Covid-vaccine producers have decided to seize the opportunity to go on a profiteering spree, taking advantage of the Modi government’s incompetence or complicity.

Covid-19 in India – profits before people
Apr 30th 2021, Jayati Ghosh

The unfolding pandemic horror in India has many causes, including the complacency, inaction and irresponsibility of government leaders and the continued election rallies, when the threat of new mutant variants was evident.

The Resurgence of Inflation
Apr 26th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The official wholesale price index for March 2021 is 7.39 % higher than that for March 2020. Such a high rate of inflation has not been seen in India for over 8 years. The country is clearly witnessing an inflationary upsurge and it has been building up for some time.

Biden's Package and its Pitfalls
Apr 19th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The Biden fiscal package will benefit the US economy but could actually harm developing countries, unless global finance is restrained.

How China is Offering an Alternative to the IMF
Apr 16th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The People's Bank of China's network of local currency swap arrangements provide Asian countries with a much-needed safety net, while also strengthening China's diplomatic position.

Ruling Classes and Concern for the Poor
Apr 12th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The pandemic and the associated lockdown meant a drop in GDP and tax revenue both in the West and in India. However, there is a world of difference between the support provided by the two governments. The fiscal packages need to be examined to discover the scale of discretionary fiscal support for the poor.

US Stimulus: Setting a new agenda?
Mar 22nd 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed by Joe Biden is one of the biggest fiscal boosts in the world in recent times. It marks a move away from the fiscal conservatism and dependence on monetary policy instruments characteristic of the neoliberal era that began with Reagan.

Privatising Indian Insurance
Mar 22nd 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Along with the process of inducting foreign capital into Indian insurance, the decision to privatise at least one general insurance company and enact legislative amendments permitting an initial public offer of equity by the venerable Life Insurance Corporation of India, implies a move towards privatisation of LIC as well.

Fiscal Policy in a Bind
Mar 15th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

Even the blinkered BJP government sees the need for a fiscal policy to increase the government expenditure and stimulate the economy; but it cannot tax capitalists or enlarge the fiscal deficit, violating the dictates of globalized finance and thus finds itself in a bind.

Europe could make good use of a New SDR Allocation
Mar 2nd 2021, Jayati Ghosh

The large European Union-wide fiscal stimulus suggests that the bloc has displayed some good sense finally in looking after its own, but vis-à-vis the developing world, the EU's behaviour has ranged from dismaying to reprehensible to downright appalling.

Fifteenth Finance Commission: A neoliberal boost to fiscal centralization
Mar 1st 2021, C. P. Chandrasekhar

The features of the 15th Finance Commission's report point to a bias in favour of the Centre that would substantially aggravate the fiscal centralisation that has intensified in recent years, leading to a politically disruptive fiscal crisis affecting all state governments.

A Lifeline for the News Business
Feb 25th 2021, C. P. Chandrasekhar

A process to curb internet firms from freeriding, started by the Australian competition commission, might culminate in a legislation whereby search engines and social media platforms would have to pay publishers whose content they direct users to. It shall affect Google and Facebook initially, but is likely to cover the likes of Apple News over time.

Hype in the Midst of a Crisis
Feb 9th 2021, C. P. Chandrasekhar

The hype about the transformative health and capital spending agenda of the Budget 2021 seems like a way of deflecting attention from the inadequate social security provided by the government to those affected by the pandemic. This budget shall only benefit a few industrialists and foreign investors.

The Challenge of LDC Debt
Feb 9th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

A challenge set by the Covid-19-induced economic crisis that would be difficult to address is the external debt crisis engulfing developing countries. While the G-20 with its Debt Service Suspension Initiative appeared to recognise the problem, the evidence indicates that the international community is unwilling to do what is needed.

Changing the Speculative Game
Feb 8th 2021, C. P. Chandrasekhar

The shares of GameStop, a brick-and-mortar retailer of gaming consoles and video games, which had been losing value over the past few years, rose by 2000% in January. This rise in GameStop's stock price was driven by a loose community of day traders, thus shocking Wall Street and financial pundits.

Biden's Rescue Package
Feb 1st 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

Even before taking office, US President Joe Biden announced a rescue package that involves transfers to the working people and shall be financed by taxing the rich. This is in sharp contrast to the Modi government's callous policy vis-à-vis the people.

A Dangerous Red Herring
Jan 25th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

In its systematic attempt to vilify the farmers' movement, the government claims that farmers from only a few states are opposing the agriculture bills. Not only is this claim false, but the idea that this proposition makes the movement illegitimate, is extremely dangerous as well.

The Electronics Industry PLI Scheme: A missed opportunity?
Jan 22nd 2021, Smitha Francis and Murali Kallummal

India's recent policy push to promote domestic electronics manufacturing is pivoted on a belief in the ability of large foreign firms to support the development of an advanced parts and components ecosystem. India might end up being a digital colony if the structural weakness of the industry cannot be overcome.

Four Ways Biden can Boost the Global Economy
Jan 20th 2021, Jayati Ghosh

The US is nowhere near as economically dominant as it was even a decade ago. Yet President-elect Joe Biden can take several relatively simple steps that would have far-reaching benefits for the US economy, the American people, and the rest of the world.

The Corporate-Hindutva Alliance and the Peasants
Jan 18th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The agricultural bills impose a shift on farmers from food to cash crops that would destroy the public distribution system, but that is not what the Indian farmers or even consumers desire at present. We are witnessing a bizarre situation of the government versus people, instead of the usual people versus people.

Engels on the Peasant War in Germany
Jan 18th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

At a time when the Indian peasants are engaged in a valiant and peaceful struggle for the repeal of the Central government's three agricultural laws, it is important to recall Friedrich Engels' study of the peasant war in Germany in 1525.

Misleading Economic Signals
Jan 11th 2021, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Financial indicators are hugely favourable from the point of view of those who benefit from them even when the real economy is performing badly. Thus, in this Covid-afflicted year, amidst economic contraction, both the stock market returns as well as the stock of forex reserves in India registered great increases.

The Timidity-cum-Callousness of the Modi Government
Jan 11th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The Modi government must be the most timid in the world vis-à-vis international finance capital and the most callous vis-à-vis the working people of the country. The government's economic policy during the pandemic bears ample testimony to this fact.

A Matter of Survival of the Peasantry
Jan 4th 2021, Prabhat Patnaik

The three agricultural laws brought in by the Modi government remove the life-line of the peasantry and carry forward the neo-liberal agenda to its limit. Thus, there can be no meeting ground between the protesting kisans and the government, within the ambit of these laws; they simply have to be repealed.

The Global Angle to the Farmer Protests
Dec 31st 2020, Utsa Patnaik

It is not just domestic firms that are potential beneficiaries of the new farm laws; foreign agribusinesses are a danger too.

Little value from Global Chains
Dec 28th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Workers at a unit of Wistron, angered by a violation of labour laws, ransacked the unit and the vice-president was sacked after investigation. Such incidents of worker exploitation under rogue managers that lead to similar responses, reflect a tendency of racing to the bottom in the search for manufacturing growth at the expense of workers.

Misconceptions about the Food Economy
Dec 28th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The Indian intelligentsia suggests that the Indian kisans should move away from producing foodgrains towards other crops and import foodgrains from metropolitan countries, but it would take India back to the pre-Green Revolution days.

Countering the Corporate-hindutva Narrative on the Nation
Dec 21st 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The kisan agitation in no longer simply a fight for MSP or against the corporatization of agriculture, it is a movement against the hegemonic narrative promoted under the neo-liberal Modi government.

Firing a Warning Shot across Big Tech's Bows
Dec 15th 2020, Jayati Ghosh

The novel coronavirus pandemic further enhanced the monopoly power of the big tech giants, but the lawsuits and regulatory moves in the West suggest that their easy, unchecked expansion may be coming to an end.

RCEP and China: A deal that can make a difference
Dec 15th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

As a trade promoting arrangement the RCEP is no game changer, but it possibly serves China’s interests by giving China a freer access to a 'common market' of considerable size and significance, without the presence of India and the United States, which share the objective of wanting to counter China's rise.

Agriculture and the Free Market
Dec 14th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The three Agricultural Bills of the Modi government, against which the current country-wide kisan movement is going on, expose agriculture to the free market. It is a sub-optimal solution since the prices as well as the quantities of production that would rule for agricultural goods in a free market are likely to be socially disastrous.

The Dangers of Misplaced Optimism
Dec 9th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

As the government sticks to recovery hype with the fall in the level of contraction from 23.9% in the 1st quarter of FY 2020-21 to 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, the danger is that such optimism would provide the justification to avoid adoption of the measures crucially needed to pull the economy out of recession.

The Final Push?
Dec 9th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

A report of an internal working group set up by the RBI is reconsidering allowing entry of corporate players into India's banking space, which may restrict access to credit of agriculture and small business sectors and encourage advances based on criteria not focusing on risk management.

What the Second Quarter GDP Estimates Reveal
Dec 7th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Government spokespersons exhibited much euphoria over "only" a 7.5% drop in growth over the second quarter, compared to that of 2019-20, although with the 23.9% first quarter drop, the talk had been of a "stronger recovery". However, even this recovery appears both dubious and immiserizing.

A Strike against the Discourse of Unreason
Nov 30th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The November 26 strike is significant not only because it protests against the Modi government's brazen attacks on workers and peasants in the country, that carry forward an imperialist agenda, but also because it dissents against the anti-democratic and anti-secular nature of the Hindutva forces.

Immiserization behind the Recovery
Nov 23rd 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Ministers as well as the Reserve Bank of India have seen signs of recovery in the Indian economy, but there, of course, had to be a recovery from the deep abyss to which the lockdown had pushed the economy, as some degree of normalcy returned; it is no reflection of any virtue of the government.

South Korea: Debt in the time of Covid
Nov 16th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

South Korea has successfully managed the Covid-19 pandemic, providing evidence of a strong public health system and buttressing the view that besides success with growth, South Korea has also considerably improved its social sectors like education and health.

Modi on Demonetization
Nov 16th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

On the fourth anniversary of demonetization that destroyed the informal sector, including peasant agriculture and led to unemployment, Narendra Modi is not only repeating the claim that black money has been curbed, but also taking pride in that destruction.

Tech Platforms Feel the Heat
Nov 13th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The US Justice Department has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google for the misuse of monopoly while the US Federal Trade Commission is likely to launch an antitrust case against Facebook due to complaints of its anti-competitive practices, but this may just be an election year stance.

Capitalism and Inheritance
Nov 9th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

It is often believed that the ability to pass on property to one's progeny is an essential element of capitalism, without which the capitalists' incentives will dry up and the system will lose its dynamism and nothing could be further from the truth.

Labour Hours Lost During the Pandemic
Nov 2nd 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

As per the statistics provided by the International Labour Organization (ILO), workers across the world have suffered while the billionaires never had it so good, but the third world workers suffered the most due to the loss of autonomy of their governments in the era of globalization.

Billionaires and the Pandemic
Oct 26th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The pandemic, just as any other crisis, has become a mechanism for the centralisation of capital arising from the inability of small wealth-holders to face stock-price collapses that the billionaires can face and the pooling together of vast masses of small capitals into a few large ones.

Resistance to Change at the IMF
Oct 26th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The shift in IMF recommendations from fiscal austerity to enhancing public expenditure, is seen as a telling shift, although this recommendation is nothing more than just obvious, given the pandemic's fall-out in the form of compressed demand and increased unutilized capacity in industry.

One Hundred Years of Indian Communism
Oct 19th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Prabhat Patnaik discusses the proletariat's relationship with different segments of the bourgeoisie and the peasantry and the Communist Party's tactics towards other political forces, over the last one hundred years of the existence of communism in India.

Agriculture Bills and Food Security
Oct 14th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The Modi government suggests that intervention in the form of MSP will continue, but it was not incorporated in the Agricultural bills rushed through the parliament by this government. Moreover, if the mandis lose primacy, as the legislation visualizes, then the MSP-regime becomes infructuous.

Asymmetric Effects of Growth and Stagnation
Oct 12th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Growth under capitalism is associated with an increase in absolute poverty and the Indian experience bears this out. The period of neoliberalism in India witnessed rapid capital accumulation and hence rapid growth in GDP and yet this very era saw an increase in absolute poverty.

The Move towards a de Facto Unitary State
Oct 5th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Federalism is one of the basic features of the Indian Constitution, but the tendency of the Centre to encroach on the domain of the states has intensified to such an extent under the Hindutva forces and the corporate-financial oligarchy, that the country is being pushed towards a de facto unitary State.

A Damaged Federal Structure
Oct 5th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The process of centralization of financial resources at the expense of the states that had been underway for long has taken on a new intensity under the current government, through the transition to the GST and the Centre's response to the revenue shortfall of the states in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Modi's Agriculture Bills Push Imperialist Agenda
Sep 28th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The two bills rammed through parliament last week were not only anti-democratic in nature, but also exploitative. It leaves millions of peasants at the mercy of private buyers by opening them up to monopsonistic exploitation.

A Government Unequal to the Task
Sep 21st 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

When there is a lockdown, and output contracts, it is incumbent on the government to increase or at least maintain its expenditure to reduce the degree of contraction and to enable the population to maintain their consumption needs. However, by reducing the expenditure, the GoI did the exact opposite of what it should have done.

The Indian Economy on the Verge of Collapse
Sep 14th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The disaster staring the Indian economy consists not in what we have just experienced, but in what lies ahead and if this disaster is to be avoided, then there has to be a massive injection of demand by the government both through transfers and through direct spending on goods and services.

Unravelling India's Growth Impasse
Sep 11th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The 24% contraction in India's GDP is remarkable not only in an absolute sense but also relative to other countries where the pandemic was severe. The stringent country-wide lockdown stopped a host of economic activities from being undertaken and no strong government intervention was done to counter its damaging effects either.

A Retrograde Paradigm Shift in Education
Sep 9th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

NEP involves a paradigm shift in India’s education system that is highly retrograde and deleterious. It visualizes an education that is in perfect sync with the politics of the corporate-Hindutva alliance that currently rules India.

GST Compensation: Centre's bizarre stand
Sep 7th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

When the GST was introduced, the states virtually gave up their constitutional power to levy indirect taxes. The GST, however, having been singularly unsuccessful in garnering revenue, the GST cess which is supposed to finance the promised compensation payment to states has also failed to garner adequate revenue.

The Great GST Impasse Threatens India's Federal Structure
Sep 3rd 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The Centre could borrow and compensate the states, and finance that borrowing from future revenues accruing to the cess fund, but the Centre went ahead with its decision to stop the transfer of compensation to the states to cover the shortfall in state-level Good and Services Tax (GST) revenues.

A Guide to Flattening the Curve of Economic Chaos
Sep 3rd 2020, Jayati Ghosh

India has become the global leader in the number of Covid-19 cases and has recorded the worst economic performance in South Asia or even amongst the G20 countries. Wealth tax and taxes on the multinational corporations need to be imposed and urgent action needs to be taken to tackle the situation.

Hindutva Politics and the Indian Economy: An interview with Prabhat Patnaik
Sep 3rd 2020, by Subho Ranjan Dasgupta

Prabhat Patnaik in his interview with Subho-ranjan Dasgupta says that Hindutva is a vote-catching device, it works essentially to further the interests of big capital, both domestic and foreign.

Branding Debt as a Chinese Weapon
Sep 2nd 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Developed countries have opposed IMF support for debt stressed developing countries on the grounds that the money would be used to meet debt obligations due to China, but if China is seen as using debt to buy influence, then that can be prevented, ironically, by paying off the debt.

Forex Reserves: No cause for celebration
Sep 2nd 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The high levels of reserves are the result of reduced merchandise trade deficit and overall trade surplus, which includes the benefits of the oil price decline. It indicates recession and output contraction accompanying the pre- and post-Covid crises and thus, the weakness of the economy.

The Protracted Crisis of Capitalism
Aug 31st 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The current crisis in capitalism is not because of the pandemic, but due to the operation of neoliberalism that increased the share of economic surplus in output by keeping the real wage rates unchanged, even while labour productivity increased. The existence of an over-production crisis predating the pandemic has only made things worse.

An Elementary Misconception about the Hindu Rashtra
Aug 24th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The Hindu Rastra, that the BJP wants to achieve, will eventually be an authoritarian State, suppressing Hindus and Muslims alike and eventually subjecting them to unprecendented levels of exploitation by international finance capital and domestic corporate-financial oligarchy.

Lebanese Portents
Aug 17th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Lebanon has been in the grip of an economic crisis for quite some time and with the coronavirus crisis the world recession has become even more acute. These phenomena are common in the third world and they follow from the pursuit of neo-liberal policies that are not concerned about improving the conditions of the people or the economy.

WTO is Using COVID for its Expansionist Free Trade Agenda
Aug 14th 2020, Murali Kallummal and Smitha Francis

Under the garb of removing supply chain disruptions in essential medical goods, the WTO is trying to expand free trade in electronic medical equipments and facilitating the North's agenda of consolidating the market shares of their firms, despite knowing that it can disrupt the production capacities of developing countries like India.

Detainees during the Pandemic
Aug 13th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The current central government does not feel the need to follow the practice of releasing prisoners, thus displaying a tremendous disregard for human rights. Most of the detainees, who are being held in the coronavirus infected jails, have not been convicted of any crime and are innocent citizens; many are even senior citizens with severe comorbidities, which makes them extremely vulnerable.

GST under Strain
Aug 10th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The Centre recently announced that it would not fully compensate the states for any shortfall in revenues from GST, thus proving that the Centre's belief that compensation cess would serve its purpose over 5 years, when its contribution was needed, was wrong. The GST regime seemed to be on a trajectory when growth was reasonable, but needed a life support when growth slowed down.

New Education Policy: India's great leap backward
Aug 10th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The National Education Policy portrays the objectives of a neo-liberal education policy that aims to educate people merely on the basis required by capital, by excluding the socially and economically deprived section from the ambit of education, while encouraging privatization of education.

Asia's Covid-19 Response and the Road to a Green Recovery
Aug 7th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Across the world, the governments are under the pressure to proactively allocate resources to address the pandemic leading to a shift in priorities and focus on expenditures that render an environmentally just recovery. Proactive fiscal policies have been adopted in Asia as well, but the responses vary across countries.

Protecting the Regulatory and Legal Infrastructure for Food Sovereign, Food Self Reliant India (Atma Nirbhar Bharat)
Aug 7th 2020, Vandana Shiva

The agricultural reforms announced by the Finance Minister as a part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan has paved the way for the global e-commerce and food processing corporations to lock farmers into new corporate slavery.

Income Decline before the Pandemic
Aug 3rd 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Despite having a high rate of growth since the adoption of neo-liberal policies since 1991, growth rate of per-capita demand for foodgrains is still low since the real income in the hands of the working class has not really increased in per-capita terms.

Modi's Covid-19 Policies make clear that in India some lives matter more than others
Jul 30th 2020, Jayati Ghosh

India has been a world leader in economic disparities and social discrimination for a while and the pandemic policy response proves that some lives are much cheaper than others.

What could be wrong with a Fiscal Deficit
Jul 27th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Fiscal deficit puts wealth into the hands of capitalists without their doing anything to earn it, thus raising wealth inequalities in the economy. Government spending needs to be financed by a tax on the rich, such as a wealth tax or a profit tax.

Deception on Poverty
Jul 20th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The "decline in poverty" myth, propagated by the World Bank across the developing world is based on a ridiculously low International Price Line, which does not meet either "basic needs" or nutritional benchmarks, says Prabhat Patnaik. Poverty decline is a highly localized phenomenon in China and east Asia, while countries like India continue to be riddled by high levels of poverty.

Can the Economic Lever Nudge China?
Jul 17th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Using economic weapons to temper China's stand on the border question would not be easy for India. The presence of Chinese firms in a relatively inconsequential area such as mobile apps was an easy and convenient lever for it to use.

A Critique of the Indian Government's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Jul 14th 2020, Jayati Ghosh

The most destructive effects of Covid-19 in India have not been the result of the disease, but the nature of the government response. The most stringent lockdown in the world destroyed the economy and forced millions into poverty and hunger, but did not control virus transmission. The resurgence of disease as restrictions were lifted and the continued economic distress point to ten major features of state response that ensured these unfortunate outcomes.

The Hindrance to a New Deal Today
Jul 14th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

A New Deal attempted by any State today through larger fiscal deficit of taxing the rich will run the risk of capital flight and hence financial crisis. Such an effective opposition by global finance will require a mobilized working class to overcome.

A Tale of Two Countries
Jul 13th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The contrast in responses to the BLM movement in the U.S. and the anti-CAA anti-NRC protests in India has to do with the fact that the "educated bourgeoisie" in the U.S. has been more punctilious in playing a democratic role than its Indian counterparts.

FTAs and the Race to the Bottom
Jul 6th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The recently concluded EU-Vietnam FTA is likely to increase Vietnam's exports at the expense of other developing countries, triggering competitive policy shifts inimical to long term development. In India, it is likely to be exploited by a neoliberal government to push its agenda to sign similar agreements.

India's Abysmal Healthcare System
Jul 6th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Amidst a dreadful pandemic, the medical staff of several government facilities are facing salary cut. As healthcare gets more privatized, the State's actions seem to compound the rapid increase in absolute poverty by keeping public health expenditure abysmally low.

Our Dependency on China didn't Happen Overnight
Jul 3rd 2020, Biswajit Dhar and K S Chalapati Rao

The Indian industry has been hollowed out by rapid trade liberalization without the requisite preparation to face cheaper imports. Transition from dependence on China for critical products to self-sufficiency would require some fundamental policy changes.

The Absurdity of Hiking Oil Prices
Jun 29th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Taxing a universal intermediary like oil is the most absurd among all options to reduce fiscal deficit. It will not only severely reduce aggregate demand but will also increase wealth inequality, unlike a wealth-tax.

The Fisc and the Economy
Jun 26th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Neoliberal policies geared to incentivize private investors while limiting the fiscal deficit, and the shift to a failed GST regime, had sharply lowered tax revenue growth and curtailed expenditure even prior to Covid. The government is now faced with a fiscal crisis, and the economy is in recession.

A Stock Market Boom amidst a Real Economy Crisis
Jun 22nd 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The stock market boom amidst a real economic crisis in the US reveals the absolute hegemony of finance in a neoliberal system, which is forced to rely on asset price bubbles to stimulate the economy.

Imperialism and India's Food Economy
Jun 15th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Denial of food is a very potent weapon in the imperialist armoury and every step in the direction of opening agriculture to global trade is ipso facto a step towards reducing domestic food availability.

India’s Response to Covid-19 has been Sadistic
Jun 12th 2020, Jayati Ghosh

Prof. Jayati Ghosh talks with Number13 about India’s response to the pandemic and its myriad impacts on society. It is not Covid-19 itself, but the highly classist government responses which have destroyed the economy, employment and livelihood of the country.

Another Financial Rescue by the US Fed
Jun 11th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The performance of financial markets and the real economy have diverged sharply in the aftermath of the Covid-induced crisis. The Fed's actions have a role to play, by infusing the cheap liquidity that fuels speculative investment and lending.

Pandemic and the Reverse Migration of Labour in India
Jun 8th 2020, Sunanda Sen

An account of hunger and destitution currently experienced by the mass of out-migrants in urban pockets, provide clear indications of a minimalist state in the process. Closer alliance of big capital and the ruling state further weaken the prevailing labour laws under the false pretext of attracting finance.

An Unacceptable Violation of Rights
Jun 5th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The lockdown has disrupted the livelihoods of many people in India, but compensations have not been announced till date. The payment made to private sector employees from public budgets is simply a recognition of the rights of individuals within a capitalist democracy, where the poor have no de facto rights.

The Problem of External Debt
Jun 3rd 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The build up of external debt in developing countries is putting further strain on their already dwindling public revenues. Deferring debt service payments by the G20, instead of writing off some debt, will only increase their burden in the future.

The World at Crossroads
Jun 2nd 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The dead-end of neoliberalism, which is visible to even bourgeois thinkers in the metropolis now, is invisible to the Modi government still on the authoritarian-fascist track. Even the revival of post-war "welfare capitalism" will require a struggle by the working class.

Employment in India: Aggregate demand and structural transformations
Jun 1st 2020, Sunanda Sen

Mainstream economic policies that advocate fiscal-monetary austerity along with financialization and speculative transactions have squeezed the pace of expansion for the real economy. A major impact of above has been the dismal state of employment and job creation in the country.

A Fragile Federation under Strain
May 26th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Despite invoking wide-ranging emergency powers, the central government has left the task of addressing the Covid pandemic and financing that effort largely to the states. The resulting fiscal crisis threatens the fragile foundations of India's federalism.

Labour Rights are in Free Fall
May 25th 2020, Anamitra Roychowdhury

By suspending labour laws in an undemocratic manner, states are exploiting the unique opportunity provided by the national lockdown. It is time we wake up to its authoritarian rule and resist unitedly.

The Mendacity of the "Rescue Package"
May 24th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The utter insensitivity towards the migrant workers, the abrogation of labour laws, the opening up of crucial sectors to foreign capital, all done under the pretext of a "rescue package" are a part of the agenda to please finance capital.

Should MFs call for Direct RBI Support?
May 21st 2020, Parthapratim Pal and Partha Ray

The RBI, in deciding its rescue package needs to distinguish between liquidity risk and solvency risk. Rescuing mutual funds which, despite SEBI guidelines, chose to invest in high-risk debt securities may encourage such errant behaviour.

Callousness in a Time of Crisis
May 20th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The actual fresh allocation by the Centre in its second relief package is shockingly minimal. Showing liquidity provisions as spending for the pandemic and changing labour laws under the guise of self-reliance only reveal its callousness in a time of crisis.

The War on Labour
May 18th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The brutal suspension of labour laws will not help attract private investment, or raise overall levels of profits. It will, however, lead to a reduction in employment and output for the economy as a whole.

Will Diluting Labour Laws in India in Indian States Attract more Private Investment?
May 12th 2020, Jayati Ghosh

The plan of some state governments to dilute labour laws in order to attract investment is not just ethically vile but economically stupid.

A Dangerous Courses
May 11th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

While state governments are expected to meet all the Covid-related expenditure, they have not even been given their legally mandated GST compensation. This centralizing tendency of the BJP govt harms not just the states but the federal consciousness of India.

Reliance and Facebook: Seeking pathways to profit
May 8th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The deal between the two giants Reliance Industries and Facebook is aimed at ensuring their joint domination of India's e-commerce space. To that end, RIL hopes to use WhatsApp to bring the country's large base of local outlets under its retail empire.

The End of Globalization
May 8th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Globalised finance was known to increase inequality and create economic volatility. The pandemic has shown that it can even make crucial state intervention impossible in a major crisis. People everywhere have a choice of submitting to its hegemony or striving for a new class equilibrium.

Finance's Preference for the Metropolis
May 4th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Globalized finance, by nature, prevent welfare spending by third world governments and enforces their subservience vis-a-vis advanced economies. Delinking from current globalization therefore tantamount to freedom from hegemony of finance capital.

New FDI Norms in Time of COVID – Good Economics or Geopolitics?
May 4th 2020, Sunanda Sen

There is ample evidences to suggest that Chinese investments in India have been a help to employment rather than to casino finance. Hence, new FDI norms which corner China do not qualify as good economics in crisis time.

Covid-19 Crisis calls for Universal Delivery of Food and Cash Transfers by the State
Apr 27th 2020, Jayati Ghosh, Prabhat Patnaik and Harsh Mander

Food and livelihood support must be provided to those who have been forced to bear the burden of the Covid-19 lockdown - and the Centre can easily afford it. Excuses based on public finances will not wash.

What Must India do now to address the Coronavirus Crisis
Apr 27th 2020, Dipa Sinha, Prasenjit Bose and Rohit

Varied intensity of new cases across states warrants a calibrated and state-specific lockdown exit strategy. Owing to disruption in every sector the country needs a doubling-down on food and cash transfers and an overhaul of fiscal and monetary strategy.

The Exodus of Finance from the Third World
Apr 27th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The exodus of finance from third-world countries is impairing their ability to manage foreign-exchange reserves. Unlike swap-line accommodation by the US, fresh issue of SDRs will help boost the reserves of these countries without any discrimination.

The "Sink" for Indian Capitalism
Apr 20th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The Covid-19 pandemic will worsen greatly the magnitude of poverty, brought about by the mass migration of the suddenly unemployed workers in urban areas towards the village, which still remains "the sink" for Indian Capitalism.

The Might of the US Fed
Apr 16th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Under Covid-related uncertainty, as investors desert global markets and seek safety in the US, the Fed has decided to deploy swap lines to ease dollar-funding strains in countries that matter. India is not yet among them.

Finance versus the People in the Era of the Pandemic
Apr 13th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

As millions are suddenly rendered jobless, the government must enlarge its spending immediately. The current pandemic has brought to fore the fundamental conflict between interests of finance capital and those of people.

The Making of a Tragedy
Apr 8th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

With no mechanisms in place to deal with the problem of migrant labourers and delivery issues, Modi government has almost made sure that even its paltry ration scheme does not reach the neediest.

Economic Policy in the Age of Covid
Apr 7th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

At a time when the economy is in freefall absent fiscal push from the Centre only suggests a desire to favour the rich; those forces who risk losing a part of surplus in taxation to finance government debt.

Lessons from the Coronavirus: The socialization of care work is not "just" a women's issue
Apr 7th 2020, Smriti Rao

Images of migrants walking hundreds of kilometers to return home are showing the extent of the government’s indifference to the lives of millions. The almost complete privatization of social reproduction in India has left its legacy in the large-scale malnourishment that makes our population uniquely vulnerable to the coronavirus.

Pandemic and Socialism
Apr 1st 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

To face of a pandemic created by globalization under the aegis of capitalism, most countries are taking a socialist turn. Global economic and humanitarian crises like these suggest an end-game for the free-market system.

Oil Shock Reversed
Mar 30 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

In a dramatic post-Coronavirus-pandemic turn, the agreement between OPEC and some non-OPEC oil exporters has collapsed, causing global demand-supply imbalances and depressed prices. Back home Indian governments’ response of raising excise duty on fuel might intensify the recession.

A Niggardly Response to an Extraordinary Crisis
Mar 30th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The relief package announced by the Finance Minister is a niggardly response to an unprecedented health, economic, and humanitarian crisis, severely affecting both demand and supply. The Centre does not seem interested in moving much beyond the lockdown.

Some Basic Lessons from the Pandemic
Mar 23rd 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

It is clear from the current pandemic that the tenets of neo-liberalism must be reversed to introduce a comprehensive public healthcare system and a universal public distribution system; otherwise several precious lives will be lost.

Why have Indian Banks become Financially Fragile?
Mar 16th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The crisis at Yes Bank is only the concentrated expression of the vastly increased financial fragility in Indian Banking. The very nature of a neo-liberal economy requires financial instability for sustaining a boom.

The Cost of a Yes to a Bank Rescue act
Mar 11th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The Yes Bank plan is risky and there is little doubt that the SBI is acting on government's bidding. But given the uncertain investor support in a gloomy economy, the success of this restructuring exercise in not guaranteed.

Coronavirus and Capitalism's Vulnerability
Mar 11th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The production setback triggered by the coronavirus epidemic in China will soon be fed by countries turning propagators. Prospects of deep recession now seem daunting as the fragility of neo-liberalism is revealed.

Economy Sliding into Stagnation
Mar 8th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The Indian economy is sliding into a serious state of stagnation. Suppressed by industrial repression and a world economy at the dead-end of neo-liberalization, the economy desperately requires a powerful fiscal intervention to be revived.

A Shot in the Arm for Virtual Currencies
Mar 6th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The recent Supreme Court's judgement has recharged the virtual currency eco-system in India. The power of the RBI to supercede this judgement by banning VCs may not pass the test of proportionality.

The Uses of "Populism"
Mar 2nd 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

The term "populism" which was used by the Left to refer to a perspective that saw the "people" as undifferentiated in class terms, has been transformed. It now is used as a concept that underplays the viciousness of Right-wing supremacism.

The Future of Indian Finance
Feb 18th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The Budget speech includes measures that could fundamentally transform of India's state-regulated financial sector. With the government clearly keen on washing its hands of the mess in the public banking system, privatization could be the end result.

Capitalism, Socialism and Over-production
Feb 17th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Over-production under capitalism occurs because of speculative investments and the multiplier effect that follows. As both these factors are eliminated under socialism, Soviet Union, with all its defects, never experienced unemployment.

A Brief Exercise in not taking the Economic Survey 2020 Seriously
Feb 7th 2020, S. Subramanian

This survey was about wealth and entrepreneurship and free markets and privatisation, not about poverty or inequality or public employment schemes.

The Road to Dominance
Feb 4th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Reliance industries has achieved success through a combination of aggressive investments, predatory pricing and consolidations. Government policies favouring its interests ensures that it holds out well even as the economy is in crisis.

Layers within the Corporate-financial Oligarchy
Feb 3rd 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Fascist regimes are based on solid support of monopoly capital and the contradictions within it. It is no surprise that even in the midst of crisis, Modi government’s only concern is corporate gains through massive tax cuts.

India's Shameful Record on Wealth Inequality
Jan 27th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

"The government's fiscal policy must be blamed for India's worsening wealth inequality. With a substantial reduction in taxes on the rich, more investment by capitalists has been accompanied by an increase in their wealth."

Inheritance and Bourgeois Ideology
Jan 17th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Since the building of a democratic society requires keeping wealth inequalities in check, the need for substantial inheritance taxes cannot be denied even by bourgeois theory. Lack of any such provision only signifies the bad faith of our governments.

The Valuation Game
Jan 15th 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Indian start-ups today are teeming with $ billion firms with no profits to show. As questions are being posed about OYO’s strategy, accelerating expansion has not delivered. So long as liquid financial capital is in free flow, the OYO spiral may keep unfolding.

Fiscal Fallacies
Jan 6th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Capitalists' opposition to State intervention arises not because of any valid economic reasons but because of their "class instinct". Programmes such as Jeremy Corbyn is putting forward would undermine the social legitimacy of capitalism.

Demand-constrained versus Supply-constrained Systems
Jan 5th 2020, Prabhat Patnaik

Unemployment and food shortage that plague the neo-liberal economies of today are indeed effects of a demand-constrained system. Essentially characterised by underutilized capacity, capitalism can never have a shortage of finance, which is artificially imposed by international finance capital.

A Self-made Fiscal Trap
Jan 1st 2020, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Instead of compensating for falling private demand, the government is cutting taxes and zealously sticking to its fiscal deficit target. This is proving to be a recipe for disaster, further shrinking public spending and slowing down already sluggish growth.

The Rise in Inflation Rate
Dec 23rd 2019, Prabhat Patnaik

The current inflation does not indicate excessive demand; rather it is caused by decline in output of several commodities relative to shrinking purchasing power. Reducing aggregate demand will only worsen growth-slowdown without affecting inflation in any way.

Missing the Big Picture: Arvind Subramanian and Josh Felman on the "Great Slowdown"
Dec 22nd 2019, C.P. Chandrasekhar

In their recent working paper, Arvind Subramanian and Josh Felman correctly recognise the growth slowdown afflicting the Indian economy, but fail to see it as the result of a deep structural crisis worsened by neoliberal reform that constrains demand.

The Perversity of the Neo-liberal Fiscal Regime
Dec 16th 2019, Prabhat Patnaik

As the economy slows down, the Modi government would rather squeeze the state and cut welfare expenditure directed towards the poor than stand up to finance capital under a neo-liberal regime.

For a System of Free Higher Education
Dec 10th 2019, Prabhat Patnaik

To develop 'organic intellectuals" of a free India, higher education needs to be made completely free. But unless the tendency to appease the rich in the name of growth and to commoditise education are overcome, this seems like a distant dream.

Claims versus Reality: Who benefits from government funded health insurance?
Dec 5th 2019, Ankur Verma

Data from the recent survey show that health insurance coverage in India has not expanded at all between 2014 and 2018. Moreover, the benefits of health insurance disproportionately accrue to relatively richer households while the poor are left high and dry.

End of the Free Trade Myth
Dec 4th 2019, C.P. Chandrasekhar

As prospects of the collapse of the WTO Appellate Board draws near, "emerging markets" like India cannot take even the current level of "free" trade for granted. They must rethink the open-door policy, especially the free flow of finance.

Claims versus Reality: Who Benefited from PM Ujjwala Yojana?
Nov 27th 2019, Dechen Dolma

Recently released NSS data and administrative data on LPG connections show that most LPG connections provided under the PMUY may not have reached intended beneficiaries. Survey data confirms that half of the rural households continue to use firewood, chips, crop residue and dung cakes as the main fuel.

Claim versus Reality: Has India Become Open Defecation Free?
Nov 27th 2019, Suvidya Patel

The NSS Report No 584, based on the 76th Round survey, calls the bluff peddled by the government on the achievements of Swachh Bharat Mission. In 2018, when the government was claiming that only 1.7 per cent rural households did not have latrines, the survey shows that it as many as 28.7 per cent.

The Descent Ahead
Nov 26th 2019, C.P. Chandrasekhar

As an aftermath to Moodys' decision of downgrading India's credit rating, the government's obsession with fiscal consolidation may see it curtailing expenditure further. If that transpires the descent into recession could be sharper.

Pathetic State of the Economy: Modi government hides data
Nov 25th 2019, Prabhat Patnaik

Leaked data showing a drop in per capita consumer expenditure confirms the massive downturn in the Indian economy. The suppression of such valuable survey data on unjustified grounds of "poor data quality" shows the governments' megalomania.

The Argument about Competitiveness
Nov 18th 2019, Prabhat Patnaik

Support for a free trade agreement which creates unemployment, or lower incomes for the peasantry, cannot be justified under any circumstance. Prabhat Patnaik argues that people were right demanding that the government should come out of the RCEP.

The Growing Threat of Water Wars
Nov 14th 2019, Jayati Ghosh

In 2015, United Nations member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, which include an imperative to "ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all." Yet, in the last four years, matters have deteriorated significantly.

The Mess called "Reform" in Telecommunications
Nov 13th 2019, C.P. Chandrasekhar

"The Supreme Court verdict on the definition of Annual Gross Revenue can prove devastating for telecom operators. Given the possibility of debt default, if the government turns soft, the result of neoliberal reforms would be the provision of subsidies to private firms to keep them in operation."

A Dangerous Agreement to Sign
Nov 4th 2019, Prabhat Patnaik

Signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership would increase destitution and unemployment and also widen the current account deficit, worsening the coming recession.

The Liquidity Conundrum
Nov 1st 2019, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Financial flow has shrunk drastically in recent months, affecting the real economy in multiple ways. But the problem is systemic, arising from investment decisions driven by the euphoria of neoliberal reform that proved to be wrong. Minor measures to increase credit flow may not be the solution.

RCEP and India's ICT Import Dependence: What should be our priorities?
Oct 31st 2019, Smitha Francis and Murali Kallummal

As India's ICT import dependence on China grows, it must ensure that the RCEP architecture does not undermine the capital-intensive efforts of indigenous manufacturers in high technology industries.

India's Rank on the Global Hunger Index
Oct 28th 2019, Prabhat Patnaik

"Global Hunger Index 2019 unambiguously concludes that India ranks lowest among all South Asian countries and that there has been an alarming increase in child "wasting". The government's callous approach to this has its roots in the institutionalized inequality of the Indian caste system."

Banking Jitters
Oct 18th 2019, C.P. Chandrasekhar

RBI's "clarification" that depositors should not succumb to rumours of impending bank failures is overly optimistic, suggesting that the PMCB crisis is an outlier. In fact, the current precarious situation has deeper roots in the neoliberal transformation of public banking since the 1990s, creating an environment that breeds delinquency and fraud.

The World Economy in Decline
Oct 18th 2019, Prabhat Patnaik

Lowering interest rates to revive economic activity has been ineffective, because the global slowdown since 2008 is not the result of "dented animal spirits" of capitalists, but the contractionary and inequalizing tendencies of neoliberal capitalism.

Market Jitters that carry a Message
Oct 15th 2019, C.P. Chandrasekhar

The sudden and steep rise in the repo rate signals a major liquidity crunch in the US money market, and even urgent action by the US Fed to bring rates down might not be able to prevent an economic recession.

A Tax Policy that could Work
Oct 14th 2019, Jayati Ghosh

"ICRICT's proposal of unitary taxation on MNCs would not only ensure that multinational companies pay their fair share of taxes but also help the Indian government tackle declining tax revenues without adopting regressive tax measures."

A Counter-productive Measure
Oct 9th 2019, Prabhat Patnaik

The Modi government's "fiscal stimulus" in the form of corporate tax cut is likely to aggravate the economic crisis. What needs to be done is the opposite: an increase in government welfare expenditure financed by taxing the rich.

The Opposite of what was Needed
Sep 30th 2019, Prabhat Patnaik

The Modi government's "stimulus" measure in the form of corporate tax concessions will aggravate the slowdown instead of overcoming it and worsen in India.

RCEP: A dangerous drift
Sep 25th 2019, C.P. Chandrasekhar

Staying out of the RCEP is the best option for India. While damaging for some sectors, the terms would preclude measures required to raise India's export competitiveness.

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