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High Five to Bhutan!!!

Stewart Willis, the Former Executive Director of New Economics Foundation, a UK based think-tank which is propagating a new model of wealth creation based on equality, diversity and economic stability, wrote an article for World Economic Forum (WEF), highlighting five measures of growth namely; g ood jobs, well being, environment, fairness and health which are better than Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In his article (https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/five-measures-of-growth-that-are-better-than-gdp/), Stewart likens GDP to a speedometer in an automobile, which only reflects the speed at which the vehicle is moving, but will not give you an indication of anything else. He says that New Economics Foundation likens these five parameters to a dashboard of a car which you can glance at for an overall picture, and can even deep dive into individual parameters if the need arises. While reading this article, the only country that came to my mind was the beautiful Kingdom of Bhutan,...
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To The Brink and Back - India's 1991 Story

This week I read two books. First, " To The Brink and Back - India's 1991 Story " by Jairam Ramesh. The book was written around the 25th anniversary of the Liberalisation policy initiated by the Government of India in 1991. Jairam Ramesh who was working with the Planning Commission (appointed by Dr Manmohan Singh himself) was brought into the prime minister’s office (PMO) as a special appointee to facilitate communication between the Prime Minister and Finance Minister. The author had a vantage point to what transpired in those critical days of the Indian economy. The book gives a peek into the political and economic situation during the key months of June to August 1991 when India unveiled its policy of opening the doors to foreign investments and also devaluing the currency to make its exports more competitive. While everyone is aware of these often narated facts the novelty of the book lies in the focus on the partnership between prime minister Narsimha Rao and ...
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Indian Growth: A Contrasting Story

This week International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its bi-annual World Economic Outlook (WEO) and it forecasts that Indian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow at 7.2 per cent in the current financial year. This is certainly encouraging news, as amidst the rising global economic and political uncertainty, India continues to retain its tag of the fastest growing large economy. This will be music to the ruling government as year on year, the GDP continues to clock healthy numbers. But, do GDP numbers reveal the true picture? A few days ago, 17th April to be precise, World Bank released the " Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals 2017 ". According to the report, the primary focus of which is elimination of poverty in all its forms shows that India has the maximum number of poor living in extreme poverty. As of 2013, the latest period for which the data is available, India had a whopping 218 million people living below the poverty line of US$ 1.9 per day. This corres...
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LICs Investments in ITC: A watershed moment for ESG investments in India?

It was only last month when I was approached by a magazine for financial planners to write an article for them. One of the subjects that I proposed was writing a series of articles on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in financial investment decision making. They politely refused citing that their readers will not be interested in something like this as it doesn't concern their clients directly. While I completely respect their decision, but I personally feel it may be the right time that we start evaluating ESG implications of our financial decisions. The recent Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Bombay High Court brings out the ESG debate into mainstream. The PIL against the Union government, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and five public sector companies, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), General Insurance Corporation (GIC), New India Assurance, National Insurance Company and Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUT...
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Why the Choice of Words Matter the Most

Vijay Mallya who is currently absconding from India and is seeking refuge in UK, courtesy his citizenship of the European nation, was spotted over the weekend during a book launch ceremony in London. The ceremony assumes significance for multiple reasons. Mallya who left India in early March this year was spotted at a public function for the first time since his departure. The book launch event of Indian author Suhel Seth was jointly hosted by London School of Economics (LSE) and Indian High Commission in UK. The event also becomes significant as Indian High Commissioner to UK, Navtej Sarna was one of the speakers at the launch. Both LSE and Indian High Commission claim that Mallya was not on their respective invitee list. Mallya has himself has gone on record stating that he never gate crashed the event, something which he has never done in his life and that the author is his “ friend ”, suggesting he was “ invited ”. Whether he was really on the invitee list or did he gate cras...
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Indonesia’s Poor Land Policies Mean Palm Oil May Lose Numero Uno Status

The recent haze in Indonesia is likely to be an important issue of discussion at the upcoming climate talks in Paris. Environmentalists are vehemently opposing the cutting down of tropical rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia which are damaging ecosystem of these countries. The green brigade has been voicing its “concern” over the blind deforestation that occurs in the forests of these countries at the expense of development. Or so they lead us to believe. Palm oil has been a major target in these lobbying tactics against development primarily because it is a soft target and so are the companies and countries producing it. The question that begs to be asked is: Are the environmentalists justified in this opposition? Actual data does not support the transnational environmentalist arguments. Here’s why: The Real Culprits? U.S. and EU As per U.S. Environment Protection Agency, burning of fossil fuel is the single largest contributor of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Climate An...
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Goodbye Class of 2015

It’s April!! Time to bid farewell to another special batch on campus!!! I write my very first Farewell to the Batch of 2013 – 15. The day brings back emotions filled with memories, some good and some otherwise. Each will be remembered with equal fervour. Much like students, the day is also very significant and painful for the members of faculty as well. It’s the end of another journey on campus. Each batch makes for an interesting chapter in the life of a faculty. Over the Two Years, the bond that develops, the camaraderie, academic learning, the joy of interacting with some brilliant students, hand holding and guiding others, the pride in students doing well in their academic careers are all etched on to the memory for a life time. Personally for me, the Class of 2013-15 has many firsts (including this blog!). I owe my firsts to you and thank you for enriching my own journey in academia. 1.       T he addition of politics and presentations on as...
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