Econ & Policy
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Does Public Ownership = Public Interest?
People of my generation will remember an era of shortages and lack of opportunity. There was not enough milk, butter, food, nor electricity, steel, and aluminium. To get a telephone or gas connection, two-wheeler or car, meant a waiting list in years (yes, not days or months, but years). Unless, of course, you had “contacts”.… Continue reading
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Is India’s Manufacturing Boom Hiding in Pockets?
For several years now, we have been hearing about an imminent capex revival and a manufacturing boom. Many of the essential ingredients seem to be in place. Banks and corporates have healthy balance sheets, so money is available. Government capex is around 4% of GDP. Improving logistics and infrastructure, along with GST implementation have reduced… Continue reading
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Regulatory Risk: Hiding in Plain Sight
Regulatory risk is again in the spotlight, after IRDAI’s recent proposals to cap insurance expenses and commissions. IRDAI’s discussion paper was released on the 23rd of September and the next day, stocks of insurers, distributors and banks crashed. The collapse of market favourite, PB Fintech (Policybazaar) was the most dramatic. The stock fell 36% in… Continue reading
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Who Gets to Own India’s Future?
Today, India has developed one of most vibrant start-up ecosystems in the world. We now have more than 2.2 lakh “recognised” start-ups, and have created more than a hundred “unicorns” in the last decade or so. Many of our smartest kids today dream of “doing” a start-up, instead of migrating to the US. This is… Continue reading
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The Real Story Behind Skyroot
The most newsworthy event last week (apart from the World Cup) was the success of Skyroot’s orbital rocket and satellite launches. India is now only the third country where a private company can put satellites into orbit. Not only is this incredible, it seems almost unbelievable. In a world where India lags far behind in… Continue reading
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The Price of Good Intentions
We often compare real estate prices in Mumbai or Delhi with cities like Dubai, London or New York. For owners of Mumbai homes, this may provide an illusion of wealth. However, the reality is that homes in Indian cities are among the least affordable, relative to incomes. Nearly half of Mumbai’s population lives in slums.… Continue reading
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The Comfort Trap
Indian companies have record cash reserves. Banks have clean balance sheets and want to lend. Yet private Capex remains subdued. Instead of leveraging excess cash and cheap loans to invest, companies are hoarding cash, buying government bonds, or returning money to shareholders via dividends and buybacks. So why is this? The usual excuse is poor… Continue reading
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Fees Are Visible. Learning Isn’t.
Fees Are Visible. Learning Isn’t. The Punjab government recently proposed a 5% cap on annual fee increases by private schools. Apparently, this is intended to curb “profiteering” and improve transparency. According to the news report, Mr. Harjot Singh Bains, the Education Minister of Punjab, said that education is a noble public good, not a commercial… Continue reading
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Roads, Roads Everywhere. But No Room to Drive.
India is in the midst of a massive infrastructure boom. Cities are aggressively building new roads and flyovers, widening and resurfacing old roads. Greater Mumbai alone spends upwards of ₹10,000 crores annually (including projects funded by the Centre). Delhi is not far behind. The top 10 cities probably spend close to ₹50,000 crores a year.… Continue reading
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Fully Charged. Fully Priced?
In the last few years, India has significantly ramped up Capex in the power sector, be it solar, grid connectivity, transmission and distribution infra, and more. Total power generation capacity more than doubled from 248 GW in 2014 to 520 GW today. Within this, solar has jumped from 2.8 GW to 110 GW. The transmission… Continue reading
