News: Several banks have entered into co-lending ‘master agreements’ with NBFCs, and more are in the pipeline Recently, the RBI permitted the banks to co-lend with all registered NBFCs (including HFCs) to increase lending to the priority sector based on a prior agreement. This has led to unusual tie-ups between banks and NBFCs. For instance,… Continue reading Bank-NBFC co-lending: how it works, and the concerns it raises
Author: Ram Manohar
The tug of war within the gig economy
News: This year, Uber lost a significant legal battle against its workers in the UK. The U. K’s Supreme Court upheld a previous ruling by the employment tribunal that the 25 drivers who had brought a case against Uber are indeed employees and not contractors. Consequently, Uber announced that it would start treating all its… Continue reading The tug of war within the gig economy
Why Farmers Won, People Lost
News: Lesson that can be learnt from the farm laws episode for navigating reforms in the future. Economic reforms produce winners and losers. In the case of farm laws, losers were the relatively large farmers with a marketable surplus, who feared losing the protection of the minimum support price (MSP). On the other side, potential… Continue reading Why Farmers Won, People Lost
The case for deeper technological ties with London
News: This week, Prime Minister of UK is set to address the Carnegie India’s Global Technology Summit convened annually in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs. When Delhi thinks of technological cooperation with major powers, the US, Europe and Japan come to mind. But, the missing link in India’s technological space, however, is the… Continue reading The case for deeper technological ties with London
The stepping stones in the post-pandemic world
News: India must leverage international partnerships for ensuring a robust and sustained economic growth path. Why International partnerships are important ? Firstly, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected growth, trade and investments, and employment, among others. In this context, international cooperation is critical to combat the current & future challenges related to growth. Secondly, strengthening global… Continue reading The stepping stones in the post-pandemic world
The good and not so good of new bank ownership norms
News: RBI’s internal working group, set up in June 2020, had made 33 recommendations on the ownership and corporate structure of private sector banks. The RBI has accepted 21 of them, with minor modifications in some cases. The rest, are under examination. What are the key recommendations made by the RBI’s IWG? Entry of corporate… Continue reading The good and not so good of new bank ownership norms
The question of US monetary policy
News: Headline inflation in the US has reached 6.8%, the highest value in 40 years. In this context, if the US Federal Reserve resort to monetary tightening policy (Fed Tapering) to control inflation, it will have important consequences for the world economy. What are the implications of Fed tapering? Flight of capital from the emerging… Continue reading The question of US monetary policy
The curious case of India’s rising forex reserves and falling rupee
News: Further expansion of RBI’s balance sheet without normalizing credit offtake (demand for credit) will only raise economic risks. Contents1 How RBI manages its balance sheet?2 How excess liquidity created during the quantitative easing phase is being managed?3 What is the current anomaly?4 What are the implications due to flight of capital? How RBI manages… Continue reading The curious case of India’s rising forex reserves and falling rupee
On Agri reforms: Setback for reforms
News: Farm groups have ended the protests against the three agricultural laws. The Green Revolution policies have benefitted only those who grow wheat, rice, and sugar and in limited regions. These policies offered heavily subsidised inputs and an assured market and price for their products. For the majority of the farmers growing other crops and… Continue reading On Agri reforms: Setback for reforms
PM-AASHA, price deficiency payment scheme: A fact check on its progress
News: After the repeal of farm laws, farm groups are demanding for a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP). As of now, various options are being suggested to meet the demand of protesting farmers. One of the schemes that has found repeated mentions in various commentaries is the price deficiency payment scheme (PDPS).… Continue reading PM-AASHA, price deficiency payment scheme: A fact check on its progress
