Mainstream Weekly

Global Meltdown and its Impact on the Indian Economy

Ruddar Datt — 2009-04-01T23:15:21Z

With the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other Wall Street icons, there was growing recession which affected the US, the European Union (EU) and Japan. This was the result of large scale defaults in the US housing market as the banks went on providing risky loans without adequate security and the repaying capacity of the borrower. The principal source of transmission of the crisis has been the real sector, generally referred to as the ‘Main Street'. This crisis engulfed the United States in (…)

- March 2009

Nervousness of the Government and Increasing Burden of Subsidies

Ruddar Datt — 2008-07-22T19:22:09Z

It is now really over a decade that a comprehensive paper on subsidies was presented by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) in 1997. The situation has changed drastically since then and there is a need to re-examine the issue. The main reasons are:
1. Implicit subsidies in various forms are growing both at the Central and State levels. Take, for instance, the large number of tax exemptions on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) granted by the government. They imply a big (…)

- July 19, 2008

Mounting Inflation and the Common Man

Ruddar Datt — 2008-05-14T00:55:38Z

The wholesale price index (WPI) touched the high level of 226.0 by end March 2008 as against 210.4 end March 2007 (1993-94=100) signalling a 7.4 per cent rise in the WPI during the year, the highest witnessed during the last ten years. It crossed the limit of the five per cent comfort zone specified by the RBI. Consequently, the UPA Government was upset due to the inflationary rise of prices.
Critics, however, raised issues about the flawed measurement of the WPI. The parliamentary (…)

- May 10, 2008

Emerging Trends in Trade Union Movement

Ruddar Datt — 2008-05-08T23:27:52Z

May 1 is the International Working People's Day. On this occasion we are carrying the following article.
Historical Background
Before understanding the emerging trends in Indian trade union movement, it would of interest to understand the historical context in which unions functioned during the first four decades in the post-independence period. During the freedom movement, trade unions were patronised by political parties and the freedom movement helped trade unions to be recognised as (…)

- May 3, 2008

Dismal Experience of NREGA : Lessons for the Future

Ruddar Datt — 2008-04-14T16:25:18Z

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act came into force on February 2, 2006 and was implemented in 200 of India's most backward districts. The Ministry of Rural Development described it as a revolutionary measure to transform the rural economy. In 2007, it was extended to another 130 districts and with effect from April 1, 2008, the Act is to cover all districts.
For its progress and the weaknesses during its implementation, two kinds of reviews are available– (i) the implementation (…)

- April 12, 2008

Slower Poverty Reduction but Increasing Inequality

Ruddar Datt — 2007-06-19T20:18:48Z

THE STORY OF GROWTH IN THE POST-REFORM PERIOD
Planning Commission's Estimate of Poverty on the basis of 61st Round of NSS—2004-05
The NSSO results on the basis of large sample survey data on household consumer expenditure (NSS 61st Round) for 2004-05 are the basis of poverty estimates. The data were collected on uniform recall period (URP) using 30-days for all items. The data was also available using 365 days for five frequently purchased non-food items, namely, clothing, footwear, (…)

- June 16, 2007