GST: Promise and reality

If Modi wants to be a man of history, he must make hard choices that will pay off down the road, says T N Ninan.Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com Narendra Modi is a polarising figure on whom his critics and admirers would never agree. One set sees him as a communal-minded self-promoter who makes promises that he does not intend to keep, and then over-claims achievements. The other sees him as a man of history who is transforming the Indian economy and society, promoting the civilisational ...

Air India has sunk more money, and will create a bigger hole in the books of lenders than Kingfisher

The key reason for the country's stagnating exports is its failure to build a strong manufacturing base, says T N Ninan. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com. The trade numbers for 2016-17 will be released this week or so. They will show total merchandise exports at about $270 billion. This is against a backdrop of exports topping $305 billion in 2011-12, and staying above the 300-mark for the next three years before dropping off sharply in 2015-16. The fall is explained in part by the drop ...

Is India risking isolation by spurning a multi-continent project like OBOR everyone else is part of?

While India's human development index has improved, absolute performance levels aren't satisfactory, says T N Ninan. The Human Development Report (HDR) that was published recently by the United Nations Development Programme gave India high marks and low. It is important that the country take note of both.  The good news is that India has performed much better than average when it comes to the rate of improvement on its Human Development Index -- which is a composite of life ...

Madhya Pradesh has delivered cumulative growth of 92% in the 2010-15 period

While good news from several quarters has been trickling in, El Nino might be a dampener, says T N Ninan. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com. As one financial year closes and another is about to start, the all-important question is whether the tide is turning for the economy, especially after the shock and disruption of demonetisation are over and done with. Certainly, almost all businesses other than real estate and construction now say that the sales decline or stagnation of the last few ...

How exactly things will pan out once GST is in place will be known in the coming months and years

That is the number for job creation that India needs to achieve