Data suggests that demonetisation has hit the pace of announcement of new investment proposals during the quarter-ended December 2016 The Union Budget has set the tone for 2017 by accelerating the growth agenda. The allocation for infrastructure at Rs 3.96 lakh crore, over Rs 3.49 lakh crore last year, will fuel the sector. Of the […]
Demonetisation has dealt a body blow to the economy whether we like it or not. It has delayed the uptick in the economy by a minimum of several quarters. The informal economy is in tatters and the business outlook is glum. But it is done and nothing can be done about it. Building a cashless […]
There are very few events etched in the memories of an entire generation. For the Americans, it was the 9/11 attack and the Lehman brothers collapse. For Indians, it was the Kargil skirmish, the 26/11 terror attack and, now, demonetisation. This bold and moral move by the PM has had its share of execution challenges, […]
The balance between social good and infrastructural development is a delicate one. A citizen has a constitutional right to be provided basic amenities but the nation has limited resources, further constrained by a poor administrative system of collection of revenues, making it necessary to depend upon private investment. Private investment has to serve the profit […]
Last month, in a swift move at the recommendation of NITI Aayog, the government reversed the misery of construction and infrastructure companies. In this column last month, I had pitched for a resolution to the impasse on matters stuck in arbitration, disputes and appeals. So while the ruling has now provided that the company in […]
NITI Aayog is finally fixing the loose ends with the construction matrix to allow the multiplier effect to breathe its magical effect across the economy. It is putting together a policy to remove hurdles for projects where contractors are locked in arbitration with government agencies so that 75 per cent of the funds would be […]
The industrial policy statement of July 24, 1991, set the notes on which the elephant learnt to dance. Manmohan Singh´s reform Budget scrapped industrial licensing and the requirement to get clearance from the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission for large companies to expand or start something new. This paved the way for foreign investment […]
On June 25, exactly a year after the Smart Cities Mission was launched, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 84 projects from 20 selected cities that collectively aggregate to Rs 2,000 crore. Standing on stage along with the Union Minister of Urban Development, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and the Union Minister for Environment, with the […]
Never before have the rains mattered so much for the corporate sector as this year -despite all the efforts of a hard working government that has just completed two years. There is no doubt that in these two years, wastage has been targeted and reduced (Rs 36,000 crore saved in leakages). Natural resources like coal […]
There is finally good news on the economic front. Projects commissioned in the country reached a record high of Rs 4.6 lakh crore in FY2016, according to CMIE. This is the highest-ever commissioning of projects in a year and represents a 12 per cent increase over Rs 4 lakh crore in FY2015. The stock of […]