The Indian budget every year has always been an eagerly awaited event. For many decades, the best minds in economics, finance, tax, business and industry throng the media house to analyze the provisions shared by the Financial Minister.
Sometimes major events completely disconnected may be data points for the plans of the different powers around the world. The challenge is to discern what purpose they serve? More critically, what are we moving towards?
When the US Ambassador threatened India's "Strategic Autonomy" policy over India's friendship with Russia - much more than meets the eye was at stake. Let us unpack how the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed the US and the world. And why are we here anyway?
Overall, India has a pretty bad record in the ease of doing business. Out of a total of 185 countries, India ranks 132 in a World Bank study! This page has the tables for overall competitiveness and key indicators for each topic as well as benchmarks against regional and high-income economy (OECD) averages.
As one can see the situation of India is pretty bad. While it take 27 days to start a business in India, the South Asia average is 19 days. Things like obtaining a VAT account online and Tax accounts take anywhere from 7-10 days EACH! Everything adds up here. And, this is besides the bribes and other kinds of humiliation one has to go through if one has a large capital to invest. Then the greed of the politicians and administration just doesn’t stop anywhere.
The Indian budget every year has always been an eagerly awaited event. For many decades, the best minds in economics, finance, tax, business and industry throng the media house to analyze the provisions shared by the Financial Minister.
When the US Ambassador threatened India's "Strategic Autonomy" policy over India's friendship with Russia - much more than meets the eye was at stake. Let us unpack how the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed the US and the world. And why are we here anyway?
This visit of India left me with many questions. Many observations and inputs from different people and sections. Food for thought that I have tried to contemplate on and make sense of. Sharing all that with you.
When you analyze the last 60 years of the economic miracles of Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia versus the continued impoverished Indian economy, you get very interesting lessons. Can Indians have the wherewithal in them to do in one generation so that the coming generations may rise?
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