Weekend Ruminations

Dominance and vibrancy: Is Indian business getting oligopolistic?

With cash in the bank and low debt, the bigger players may establish their dominance in markets that require scale, but that does not seem to mean smaller companies will do poorly, writes T N Ninan

Planning for megapolises: What to expect from infra boom in NCR and Mumbai

In time we might see the Indian equivalent of the Greater Bay area of southern China. It may be time to plan ahead for better outcomes than we have seen so far in India's cities, writes T N Ninan

No policy for troubled times: Does inflation targeting really work?

On the evidence at hand, inflation targeting works only when the world economy is normal, and demand swings up and down in small cycles that monetary policy tackles, writes T N Ninan

Taming Big Tech: Battles are raging on more than one front

The profitability of Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Apple (MAMAA), twice the S&P 500 average of 10 per cent, has come to be seen as flowing from the abuse of market power, writes T N Ninan

Penalised for demographic success? Strange case of states south of Godavari

Ahead of a delimitation exercise, the government would be well advised to pre-emptively make offers like greater regional autonomy or an unchanged Rajya Sabha to the southern states, writes T N Ninan

Being people-centric: Indian govts no slouches when it comes to spending

Percentages can mislead: A higher percentage of a lower GDP per head can translate into less absolute spending per head than a lower percentage of a much greater GDP per capita, notes T N Ninan

Seeking cultural roots: Beyond name change, regimes, and identity politics

With changes to Delhi's architectural map, a re-naming rash, and more Hindu symbolism in secular spaces, the govt is making it clear it wants a clean break with post-colonial India, writes T N Ninan

India's growing heft: The dichotomy between domestic and global opinion

Handicapped without a UN Security Council veto, India can nevertheless become a great power, but what that will entail remains a work in progress, notes T N Ninan

Beyond forming an alliance: INDIA must offer more than the govt's criticism

Building the temple in Ayodhya, removing J&K's special status, and ending the so-called minority appeasement may be Mr PM's pitch to beat the criticism on inflation and unemployment, writes T N Ninan

Test for Opposition: How many of BJP govt's laws will it undo if elected?

If the Opposition wants to offer a different approach to political and economic issues, could it spell out the action it would take on the Bills that were passed despite its opposition, asks T N Ninan

Back to the licence-permit raj in this season of bad ideas

It may be time to restore economics and prior consultation to their rightful place in the policy-making process, writes T N Ninan

PM's 'guarantee', cyclists, and the challenge of long-run economic growth

The important question is whether India can also get rid of multi-dimensional poverty - a modest concept that stipulates a bare-bones minimum income, education and quality of life, writes T N Ninan

Back to the new-old: West wind, East wind, or the warnings of a storm?

India has been well and truly bitten by the big-country bug, and is committed once more to import substitution-on-crutches, writes T N Ninan

Why China may not challenge Western strategic dominance anytime soon

While the earlier facile assumption of China becoming a larger economy than the US may need revision, a re-balancing of global power seems more likely than a substantial power shift, notes T N Ninan

The Byju's story: What is ailing India's once booming start-up sector?

While Byju's has stumbled and may well fall, one must hope that most start-ups learn to thrive in the changed context. The economy would be much less vibrant without them, writes T N Ninan

India-US bilateral relationship: Is it soft power at work or hard?

While it feels good to talk about yoga, the diaspora and other manifestations of soft power, the true driver of relations is hard power; soft power only contributes some garnish, writes T N Ninan

Is India creating an economy productive enough to pay for a welfare system?

With manufacturing, merchandise exports and employment all lagging despite govt efforts, politicians have re-discovered the old idea of fiscal transfers through subsidies and payouts, writes T N Ninan

Consumers as political bellwether: What duality in sentiment may mean

If inflation cools, employment improves, and growth is above average, it is possible the current consumer confidence level will cross 100 again, for the first time since 2019, writes T N Ninan

India as 'developed country' by 2047: Attainable goal, or chimera?

Even as India strives to climb the development mountain, the fact is that the mountaintop is already crowded. If it got there in 2047, India would be very much a late-comer, notes T N Ninan

A sustainable growth rate: At what level will India have no output gap?

Domestic commentators need to engage with the issue of growth rate at which India will have no "output gap" - is it really significantly lower than that achieved over two decades? - writes T N Ninan