The fact is that India's mood on trade, particularly imports, has soured over the last five or six years
Unlike many recent books written by experts who have departed government, this is not a salacious account of the author's time in government
Administrative response to Nipah or even the quick evacuation of Indian nationals from Wuhan shows the government can be responsive and effective when it wants to
Until India becomes a real market economy, it is unlikely to have the confidence to integrate with, and compete in, the global market economy
India cannot aspire to be a double-digit growth economy with a dysfunctional financial system
The government shouldn't worry about the latest quarterly growth figures
Water scarcity is a serious problem for India and among many solutions ensuring market pricing for water is one
It is an opportunity for a new finance minister to recalibrate the orthodoxy around fiscal rectitude.
The current model may bear similarity to the East Asian one, but it is in fact a new variant - capitalism with Modi characteristics
Political parties must be upfront about how they plan to finance the additional spending promised in their manifestos
If there are any poster boys of the success of India's less-than-full-hearted move to a market economy, they are aviation and telecom
The terribly elongated polling process, perhaps necessary to ensure free and fair elections in every part of India, means that almost a full quarter will be lost for policymaking
It's time for India to rethink its current preferences
For all the talk of helping the poor in the next budget, politicians would do better to make the breakthrough reforms that would create jobs
If India has to have a globally competitive industry, the government must emulate China on creating the right ecosystem
Discussing market reforms would likely make politicians on both sides of the Parliamentary divide uncomfortable but it's a conversation that India desperately needs to have, and not just in Parliament