Fiscal Policy measures are a mixed bag There is a sense of relief that the FM resisted the urge to splurge despite low oil prices, and extra money from spectrum auctions, as well as better than expected tax collections in the current year. It is good that fiscal deficit targets have been kept. It will also not add pressure for… Read more »
More than two decades ago, when I made a phone call home using a public booth near Ganga dhaba close to my hostel in JNU, my father casually informed me that the police verification for my passport was over! First I did not understand what he was referring to, as I had not yet applied for the passport. When I… Read more »
While the speculation about the impending Union Budget is rife and the states are busy preparing their own budgets, it is time to take a long term view of budgets, performances and reforms. In Karnataka, this is most opportune moment as Sri S Siddaramaiah, the current Chief Minister of Karnataka, is about to complete 1000 days in office. After assuming… Read more »
Peter Drucker spoke of the bitch goddess growth[i]. Today, this growth is the single minded focus of the Indian Government. To promote this growth, policies are being pursued to encourage investment by the private sector through subsidies and tax breaks. However, for the private sector to succeed in making profits, it needs a trained, healthy labour force. This the government… Read more »
Recently I attended a workshop on Indian Civil Society Organisation’s (CSOs) participation in developmental activities abroad. The meet was to discuss the implications of and the way forward for Indian civil society’s participation in regional and pan-regional development and cooperation activities. A number of reputed organisations who havehad a long history in the development sector were present, along with the… Read more »
Angus Deaton, a professor at Princeton University, has been awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in economics, for his econometric work in three fields: the estimation of demand systems, the use of microeconomic data is estimating aggregate consumption, especially his innovation of ‘pseudo panels’ based on cross section data, and his use of household consumption survey data in estimating poverty. The… Read more »
In India, teachers have often been blamed for poor performance of government elementary schools. However, for a government school teacher in the 1990s, or even early 2000s, teaching the class and completing the curriculum were not the only challenges. Often, teachers struggled to get physical classrooms or even a single classroom for a particular class. While blackboards and chalks were… Read more »
Bengaluru Rural district is an administrative unit but lacks an identity; it is a district only in name. Bangalore district was bifurcated into two districts, Bangalore Urban and Bangalore Rural in 1986. It was further bifurcated in 2007 after Ramanagar district consisting of 4 taluks was carved out, leaving Bangalore Rural with only four taluks: Devanahalli, Doddaballapur, Hosakote and Nelamangala.Renamed… Read more »
The English newspapers—and the ‘intelligentsia’—whatever that is, are bemoaning the fact that the turnout in the elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar PALLIKE—BBMP—till 4 PM was around 38%. This is the IT capital of India they scream. And look at the irresponsible citizen, who will not take the trouble of voting for the BBMP council. How can they expect improvements… Read more »
Centre for Budget and Policy Studies (CBPS), Bangalore is conducting a 3-day orientation workshop, titled “Demystifying Government Budgets: An Orientation Workshop on Budget Concepts, Process, Analysis and Advocacy” from 21- 23 September 2015 in Bangalore. The workshop is on appreciation of government budget and its analysis for persons engaged with non-governmental organizations working in the space of public policy, research… Read more »