Page 5 - Weekend Ruminations

A world in transition: US in retreat, China on the rise, Quad in a quandary

The ineptness of US presidents, combined with the cluelessness of Americans in foreign lands, contrasts with the Chinese leadership's focus on the accumulation of wealth and power, writes T N Ninan

Ambitious again? Tata group entering too many global giants' turfs all at once

With its unrelated new initiatives, the group will enter the turfs dominated by the likes of Intel, Samsung, Tesla, Huawei, Amazon and Walmart- all of which are more focused than it - writes T N Ninan

Growth optimism: Will govt's own investment and exports be enough?

A step jump in medium-term growth rates, of the kind projected, needs all four engines of the economy to be firing. But the govt seems to have bet on just two, writes T N Ninan

Sitharaman as FM: Some positive surprises, a few works in progress

Tax, revenue and macroeconomic trends are encouraging, but more needs to be done on privatisation, clean-up of banking mess, anti-protectionism, and de-politicisation of govt bodies, writes T N Ninan

Living in 'interesting times': Dickensian illusion and Orwellian nightmare

The world has too many fires to fight - from climate change to a semi-permanent state of medical alert, increasing threat to democracy, global power shifts, and growing inequality - notes T N Ninan

Fuel price surge: What India can learn from Biden and Sunak's tax policies

When the times change, policy has to adapt. Why then is New Delhi so determined to not raise rates on under-taxed forms of income and wealth, questions T N Ninan

What Cairn, Vodafone and Devas episodes tell us about India's arbitrariness

The Indian state's arbitrariness may have come to be accepted with resignation within the country, but when it behaves in the same manner with external players, it gets a push-back, writes T N Ninan

The stock market as mirror: The changes that they reveal, and don't reveal

While Nifty 50 reflects changes in 40 years, it also shows what is missing: Low-cost manufacturers at one end, and deep-value players at the other. Also missing are technology players, notes T N Ninan

Globalisation, old and new: What changing world order means for India

Globalisation is morphing as new agendas come into focus. These now drive action on climate change, taxation of global companies, tackling terrorism, sharing vaccines and the like, writes T N Ninan

30 years after 1991: What we achieved as an economy, and what was possible

India's record has been good, relative to how other countries have done and compared also to its own previous three decades, but well short of what is required and what was possible, writes T N Ninan

What's the price of a life? A case for compensation to kin of Covid victims

The prospect of a compensation will incentivise reporting of deaths and ensure we get more accurate statistics. It will also act as pressure and force govts to control the situation, writes T N Ninan

That dream house: Real estate has some opportunity waiting to be tapped

If the real estate sector is properly managed, it could drive not just finance but demand for a range of products and services, writes T N Ninan

The Great Gatsby Curve: Will India be like East Asia or Latin America?

If India combines great inequality with poor inter-generation mobility, it risks becoming, not like East Asia with its rapid growth rates, but like under-performing Latin America, writes T N Ninan

How Covid crisis exhausted what Mr Modi had in plenty all these years

The three things that derailed the economy in the past - war, drought and oil - were mostly absent during his regime, but with the Covid crisis Mr Modi's luck seems to have run out, writes T N Ninan

Seven reasons why Central Vista project is all wrong in its present form

Besides other flaws, why should such a project be executed in the midst of a pandemic when every rupee that can be spared should go into improving India's medical capabilities, wonders T N Ninan

Meanwhile, the good news: A look at another side of the India story

T N Ninan looks at Credit Suisse India Strategist Neelkanth Mishra's four-part article series in Business Standard and how it spells hope at a time when a health care crisis has pervaded the country

'Third World', again? The virus has exposed India's underbelly for all to see

We show our weakness for declaring victory midway, as with Covid and Doklam, celebrate setback as victory, as at Depsang. And the old prickliness about foreign criticism remains, writes T N Ninan

A rising tide of old ideas: How world economics has changed in 4 decades

Higher tax rates, central banks pumping out cash, protection for home industry, suppressing interest rates, high social welfare pay-outs - all hark back to pre-Thatcher-Reagan phase - notes T N Ninan

Covid redux: Focus on real solutions, do not make a mockery of this crisis

Medicare capacity has to be increased at warp speed. Many companies and business sectors already suffer from 'morbidities', and a fresh setback could push many over the brink, cautions T N Ninan

Futility of protest: Easier to start a revolution than influence its course

Myanmar, Belarus, China's Hong Kong and Russia have all pointed to a futility of protests, and that even sustained street revolutions fail now in country after country, writes T N Ninan