
Union Budget 2017: How the shadow of GST kept govt on the straight and narrow
Here's the sour part for the centre: it has signed a blank cheque to reimburse states for not only revenue losses post-GST, but also guaranteed a 14 percent growth annually.

From direct tax to rail fare hike: 10 things to look for in Budget 2017-18
The Union Budget may unveil details on the net result of demonetisation, and also the expected additional income from the ferreting out of black money

Demonetisation impact: The last hurrah of King Cash in real estate
What is clear is that the real estate system is squeezed. In future, the cash element in property will come down.

Note ban: Manmohan Singh made polemical points, but his criticism won't carry weight
While former PM Manmohan Singh is right to say that such restrictions do not happen except at times of crises or bank failures, surely temporary restrictions at a time of policy change can be justified?

Demonetisation seems like deflation for many people; danger signal for PM Modi
The only answer to deflationary psychology is to deliver more cash to more wallets than ever before. This is the challenge before Modi.

Rs 500, Rs 1,000 notes banned: The missing elements in Narendra Modi’s attack on cash
While government ads talk about fighting black money, fake currency and terror funding, it is private businesses that are focusing on shifting focus from hard cash to virtual money.

GST rate: Tax reform reaches base camp with hydra-headed structure, real scuffle begins now
Now that the rates are finalised, hundreds of different product items must have to be force-fitted into the structure. One would be naïve to presume that this will be easy, for every business will try to ensure that it stays in the lower band.

Tata can buy out Mistrys from Tata Sons, but it’s a $10 billion solution
The Tatas will not find it easy to get the Mistrys out of their hair

Cyrus Mistry is right: The Nano is dying, and Ratan Tata ought to dump it
The moral of Mistry’s blast against the Nano and Tatas’ aviation investments is simple: promoter passions cannot dictate business decisions

Cyrus Mistry ouster: How the Tatas diminished themselves with chairman coup
In the messy exit of Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Sons, it is still not clear why he had to leave through a boardroom coup rather than being given a graceful exit when his initial term ended

Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services results signal a downward inflexion point in Indian IT’s future
Clearly, automation is going to change India IT forever. It will create a new binary class structure where there will be a very highly paid IT elite, and a reducing but still large complement of lower-wage pool facing an uncertain future.

India's rise in global competitiveness vindicates Modi efforts, but continued rise depends on faster reforms
The key point to underscore is this: we have done well, but improvement in the competitiveness rankings is a treadmill. If we don’t continue to run harder, we can fall back again.

MNS may be wrong, but should actors from Pakistan get a free run on Bollywood’s money?
By going after soft targets like actors and ghazal singers, we may be forcing all of Pakistan to band together behind the army’s agenda of eternal hatred towards India.

Uri terror attack: India’s culture of shying from conflict is why such attacks will recur
If we had one, by now the costs of Uri could have been clear to Pakistan.

Memo to Arun Jaitley: Price cuts, and not lower rates, will revive housing
At the The Economist India Summit 2016, Arun Jaitley remarked that low rates were vital to a revival in housing.

PM Narendra Modi showed he's a leader above the battle in Network18 interview
The CNN News18 interview of Narendra Modi, telecast on 2 September, did not tell us anything new about the Prime Minister’s known positions on issues, including anti-Dalit violence, communalism in the run up the Uttar Pradesh elections, or other social issues.

Budget in January? It's more about politics than economics
The ostensible reasons for shifting the budget date to January next year are two-fold. One, since it takes till mid-May for the budget to pass, effectively two months of the financial year (April-March) elapse, giving the budget only 10 months to work its wonders. Shifting the budget to January means the whole budget will be done and dusted before the financial year begins.

India should ensure that Pakistan rots in Saarc, but Saarc must not rot in Islamabad
The ideal would be a Saarc minus Pakistan; since that is not possible, we must ensure that Saarc is not hijacked by Pakistan.

GST Bill: Cong's 18% rate a pipe dream while Arun Jaitley's 20% economically workable
Even though 20 percent is a stiff GST rate, it seems to be the appropriate level at which all considerations merge: inflation and revenue loss risks will be tolerable, and the political fallout minimal.