politics
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India’s New Labour Codes: A Once-in-three-Generations Cleanup
From 29 tangled laws to 4 clear codes — why simplification matters India’s new labour codes were finally (finally!) made effective, only six years after being enacted. Some are touting this as the biggest reform since GST, maybe even bigger. Like GST, it impacts every enterprise or business; but it also directly impacts every employee. Continue reading
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Rare Earths and India: Trying to run with one leg tied
Rare Earths and India: Trying to run with one leg tied In recent months, the term “rare earths” has entered drawing-room conversations, fueled by continuous media coverage. The immediate cause for this is China’s blockade of these (and other critical) minerals and their derivative products, in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs. Suddenly, we learnt that India Continue reading
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From Oil Fields to Algorithms: National Interest is being redefined
After the Second World War, several post-colonial governments seized foreign companies – Latin American oil fields, African ports, Middle Eastern refineries and more. They justified these moves as being in their national interest, seeking to regain control of sovereign assets from the erstwhile colonial owners. Western commentators and media called it “expropriation” and a violation Continue reading
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Wilful destruction of the world’s most powerful economic engine
Wilful destruction of the world’s most powerful economic engine Sitting in my favourite armchair, far from the shenanigans of the US president, one can only watch with shock and awe – the haphazard (or is it systematic?) devastation of an economy that has dominated the world for almost a century. Ever since World War II, Continue reading
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One Nation, Many Elections
Recently, the government proposed the “One Nation One Election” (or 129th Constitution Amendment Bill) for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha & Vidhan Sabhas. Naturally, this being India, the proposal has sparked controversy, outrage, memes, and the usual quota of shouting matches on TV and outside parliament. Proponents cite the huge cost savings, and “Netas” Continue reading