Author: Ram Manohar

News: India’s largest IPO (Paytm) made a disastrous stock market debut and ended its first trading day at a discount of 27% to the issue price. Questions are, hence, being raised on the valuation of the firm and the IPO. Paytm, along with an educational technology start-up, are being viewed as one of the ‘shining… Continue reading Over-valued unicorns in a distressed economy

News: Recently, government repealed three farm laws. Agri reforms in India are necessary to unlock the true potential of agriculture and the agro-processing industry, and for the efficient allocation of private and government resources. However, the success of any attempt to reform the agriculture sector in India would depend to a large extent on the… Continue reading Non-farm jobs and social mores hold India’s key to farm reforms

News: Despite the announcement by the PM to repeal the three farm laws, farmers have said their protest will continue. They have written to the PM with their six remaining demands. One of the main demands by farmers is that, MSP should be made a legal entitlement of all farmers for all agricultural produce. However,… Continue reading Explained: In perspective, farm distress and the demand for guaranteed MSP

News: Launching of e-Shram portal, a database of unorganized workers, is a welcome and long-overdue step towards creating a social security structure for this part of the labor force. The absence of credible data on the migrant workforce, during the economic distress induced by COVID-19, resulted in problems in extending policy support for this section.… Continue reading Database of unorganised workers is a welcome step towards creating a robust social security architecture

News: Recently, the Prime Minister in an address to the nation announced that the three controversial farm laws would be withdrawn in the upcoming session of Parliament. Yet, the farmer groups are pressing for a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) and the withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill. Since this will not be… Continue reading Future of farms – On Farm Laws

News: Reliable and timely public data have a direct bearing on the state’s capability to effectively design and implement programmes. The coverage and reporting of Census data have vastly improved since independence. Among the emerging economies, India is credited to have a relatively robust public data system generated through its decennial Census and yearly sample surveys… Continue reading Reliable data, good policy

News: The centrality of land to people’s lives is key to understanding the reasons behind the year-long, rigid opposition to the three farm laws by the farmers. The ongoing land acquisition issue between the Archaeological Society of India (ASI) and over 10 agricultural families in Dholaivra is a case point that explains the significance of… Continue reading Failure at the tri-junction of land, income and identity

News: The government’s fiscal policy is pro-rich and anti-poor. It is depriving the exchequer of some of the resources it needs to handle issues such as climate change. Why it is said that the government’s taxation policy is anti-poor and pro-rich? Pro-rich policies: Replacing the wealth tax with an income tax for households that earned… Continue reading Why India’s pro-rich, anti-poor taxation policies must change

News: Human’s exploitation has led to forced evolutionary changes in other species. There is a need to minimise this risk. How human’s exploitation has led to forced evolutionary changes in other species? Loss of useful traits: In Mozambique, Past hunting pressure has led to an increase of naturally tuskless elephants. According to researchers, decades of… Continue reading Forced evolution

News: Researcher from Columbia University outlines the economic costs of human exposure to air pollution. What are the impacts of air pollution on human well-being? It includes both health outcomes and non-health outcomes Impact on health outcomes: PM 2.5 can affect the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Children, when exposed to air pollution during sensitive periods… Continue reading Air pollution impacts productivity. Mitigations generate economic gains