The privatisation of Air India will test Modi’s reformist resolve

    2020-04-03T11:33:35+00:00January 22nd, 2018|2018/2017, Final Word, India Investment Journal January Edition, Year|

    The proposed privatisation of India’s state-owned carrier will prove a balancing act for the government. The proposed privatisation of Air India, the country’s flag carrier, will test both the Narendra Modi government’s resolve to push through politically contentious reforms as well as its ability to balance the need to make the sale attractive to private investors while warding off opposition charges that it was “nationalising losses and privatising profits”. It will be a litmus test of how much his government [...]

      Can demonetisation deliver votes?

      2019-01-02T12:30:40+00:00January 9th, 2017|2018/2017, Final Word, India Investment Journal January 2017, Year|

      Good economics has given rich political returns over the last decade. Will the trend hold in 2017? In India, conventional wisdom had it, for decades, that good economics makes for bad politics. Some politicians still think caste, religion and populism are more important factors than economic growth. It is probably this line of thinking that has prompted politicians of all hues – from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to Uttar Pradesh chief ministerial aspirant [...]