Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

Feb 01, 2011

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta is an educator and commentator

Woebegone with water

“He under whose supreme control are horses, all chariots, the villages, and cattle; He who gave being to the sun and the morning, who leads the waters; He, O men, is Indra… you lifted up the outcast who was oppressed, you glorified the blind and the lame...”
— Ralph T.H. Griffith’s translation of the Rig Veda

Strangled in bourse tangle

Sheer apathy on the part of the regulator of the country’s capital markets, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has resulted in a huge amount of money belonging to small investors virtually going down the drain. The total amount belonging to small investors that is currently “blocked” in some 2,000 companies whose shares have been “de-listed” by stock exchanges is estimated to be in excess of Rs 100,000 crore.

Much ado about GAAR

There has been a huge hue and cry in the country over the decision of the ministry of finance to enforce a General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) aimed at curbing both, the avoidance as well as the evasio

Hopelessly hopeful

There is an impression that once Pranab Mukherjee moves from the most spacious room in North Block to the even more spacious Rashtrapati Bhavan, there will be a sudden flurry of so-called economic-reform initiatives that were being held back because of the Bengali babu’s adherence to the Congress Party’s past socialist rhetoric.

Policing the Net in mufti

Issues relating to whether the Internet should be governed or managed, and if so, how, are exercising the minds of many across the globe.

And the rupee wept on

Greece is in turmoil. Europe is in the throes of a double-dip recession exacerbated by a sovereign debt crisis. The future of the euro is in doubt.

Banquo’s ghost and 2G spectre

A battle is raging in India’s telecommunications industry.

Killing the messenger

At a time when the entire economy of the planet is yet to recover from the debilitating impact of the Great Recession of 2008 and the economic health of the European Union continues to remain rather p

A quick march to anarchy

Is India going through a phase of anarchy in the most negative sense of the term? Yes, indeed. There is a Union government in New Delhi but it is not providing effective governance.

Last chance for real reforms

Will the outcome of the Assembly elections cast its long shadow on the Union Budget for 2012-13 which will be presented by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday? It is unrealistic to expect Budget proposals to be made in a political vacuum. The annual presentation of the Budget of the Government of India is much more than a bland statement of the assets and liabilities, profits and losses of the world’s largest democracy. It is much more than an accounting exercise. The announcement of the Budget proposals is an occasion that not only provides an opportunity for the government to indicate the future direction of its economic policies and programmes, but also to make important statements of political intent.

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