SWAMINOMICS SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR Indian politics today seems driven less by politicians and more by the Supreme Court and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). What does this imply for Indian democracy?     The answer is that we are seeing a revolt by India’s institutions against a corrupt, callous state. An implicit political conspiracy ensures that all parties can, with impunity, engage in kickbacks and nepotism on a grand scale. In such a milieu, outcomes are decided not by justice but by money, muscle and influence.     India’s institutions have responded by turning activist, and crossing old jurisdictional borders. Earlier, the Election Commission and Supreme Court had turned activist. The CAG has now followed suit.     Activism can lead to excesses. Yet it’s better to have activist institutions, excesses and all, than passive institutions allowing money, muscle and influence to reign supreme....

2G, K - G, CWG, Coal allotment, Airport usage etc., etc............00000000000000000000000000000 India invented the zero, Our politicians have invented infinite zeros, It is difficult to keep a count on the number of zeroes in each scam. There is a race it seems amongst the politicians, “ Uskae zero mere zero sa jyada kyu hai.”

This is the story of my life, my tragedy......... My story is not directed at any individual, But To quote Khushwant Singh: “With Malaise towards one and all.” It is directed to all concerned individual who believe in cordial coexistence. Statutory warning: All characters in this story............... exist in real life, any coincidence is intentional. My wife Parties a lot I have a wife...... Well all husbands have one, But mine is different, she parties a lot, almost four times a week The clock strikes 5.30 and she is out of the house for her party Whether it is summer, winter or raining heavily, nothing stops her One day she is off to Juhu beach, the next to Bandra Band stand or NCPA One day she and her friends are on the Eastern Express highway the other day on the Western Express. She and her friends, about 50 of them have lot of fun it seems. Besides she does not need me either to give company, or to pick or drop her, her frie...

China is moving to a lower growth trajectory and may soon vacate the position as the world’s fastest-growing economy. The question is which country will move into the slot                                                                     Ruchir Sharma     Anyone forecasting a hard landing for China’s boom is typically met with the same scepticism that doomed the boy who cried wolf. However, the lesson from the fable is that the wolf did eventually come. Now after some false alarms, it seems a major slowdown in China is at the door. The news out of China is flashing red with signs of weakness, from slackening factory output to sa...

A Forgotten Revolutionary It’s unfortunate that the nation barely remembers Narasimha Rao, architect of the new India Arvind Panagariya     Fifty years from now when historians take stock of the makers of the new India, two individuals from our times will figure prominently on their lists: Prime ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. If justice prevails, by then, the nation would have also honoured them with Bharat Ratna.     Today, we celebrate the 91 st birth anniversary of Narasimha Rao. An accidental prime minister – he was all set to retire from politics and return to his native Andhra Pradesh when the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 placed him at the centre of Indian political scene – his tenure came to define the dividing line between the old India and the new. If Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave the country a vibrant democracy, Rao (and Vajpayee) gave it a modern economy.  ...

  PAST: 1 1.       India Shining : Since 2002 till at least 2010 we were under the impression that India is shining, growing at 8-10 % and that we are special. Is that the reality? Yes India was shining but not because it was a Diamond. It was reflecting the light, of Global Liquidity. The easy money policies of the developed economies of the world(US, EU, Japan)   lead to a flood of liquidity ( carry trade) into the emerging markets (BRICS) leading to rise / bubble in Commodities and Emerging Equities. 2 2.   My skills made me make a killing in the Stock market . More than skills it was being in the right place at the right time that helped stock investors see mind boggling returns. More than skills you have to thank your luck (and Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, QEs and LTROs) and the tide of liquidity that raised the equity boat to new highs. Future: 1   1.   The carry trade has to reverse . The flow of Liquidi...

We all know that demand for commodities is cyclical. For about 200 hundred years, commodities have followed a broad pattern. They tend to rise for about a decade followed by two decades of decline. If this pattern is any indication, it is most likely that the commodity super-cycle has come to its end. The commodity super-cycle of the last decade was heralded by the massive investment-driven growth of China. The dragon nation's colossal appetite had blown commodity prices off the roof. But the world economy has gone through a sea of change over the last few years. The developed economies are gripped with problems of high sovereign debt and slowing economic growth. In recent months, China is also showing clear sign s of cooling. Its commodity-intensive growth phase is nearing its end. Does this mean that we're gearing towards two decades of commodity decline? This is impossible to predict. But the decline seems certain nonetheless. Commodity-rich economies such as...