Policy Watch

Inflated views and deflated economy RN Bhaskar “When India moves forward, the world moves forward” “Today's India is leaving behind the mentality of slavery and embracing that ancient glory of art.” Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, on 28 May 2023 -- https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1927866   Leaders...

The dairy sector could be in for more confusions and value destruction By RN Bhaskar Image generated through https://deepai.org    On 3 March 2025, the government’s Press Information Bureau or PIB came up with a very interesting item (https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2107807&reg=3&lang=1).  It was titled...

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/policy-watch-clean-up-the-gold-trade-quickly-as-a-national-priority Gold smuggling- II: Cleaning up the gold trade is a national priority RN Bhaskar (Part I of this series can be found at http://www.asiaconverge.com/2020/10/gold-smuggling-i-is-encouraged-by-flawed-government-policies/) Why should gold be a national priority? There are three reasons why gold assumes immense significance for the integrity...

http://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/rn-bhaskar-tighten-seatbelts-rough-ride-ahead-for-the-economy/1020142 It will be difficult times ahead for the Indian economy r.n.bhaskar Many sectors of the Indian economy have witnessed a sharp slowdown.  This has been acknowledged both in the Economic Survey 2017 and the Union Budget 2017 tabled before Parliament a...

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/jatin-mehta-files-a-usd-5-billion-suit-against-de-beers-stanchart-and-kroll Kroll's refusal to face facts The Jatin Mehta submissions before the Surat court have squarely put the blame on Kroll, which it says acted in concert with De Beers and SCB. Also see report at https://asiaconverge.com/2022/07/jatin-mehta-sues-debeers-stanchart-kroll-for-5-bn/ From the court documents, it...

Talk to high net worth individuals (HNIs) and non-resident Indians (NRIs). They express tremendous anxiety over the provisions of the government’s new piece of legislation.  This spells trouble for all of us, even if we are largely law-abiding, they...

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/policy-watch-a-sightless-government-isnt-even-aware-where-gold-is-and-in-what-forms Gold mining – II Gold mining II: The government does not admit where gold can be mined RN Bhaskar  --  24 December 2020 Indians love gold.  And India ends up importing around 700-800 tonnes of gold on an average (http://www.asiaconverge.com/2020/10/gold-smuggling-ii-a-cleanup-is-urgently-needed/).  Each tonne...

The Indian government’s inflated aspirations are laughable R N Bhaskar Image from Canva -- https://www.canva.com The Indian government has big plans, and mighty pronouncements.  Examine them closely, and they appear horrifyingly inflated. They have become objects for derisive laughter in many countries. The...

R N Bhaskar 10 August 2015 The brittleness of impatience crackles. There is the familiar irritable fretfulness of politicians and industry captains as they chafe against the RBI’s reluctance to ease interest rates a bit more.  Unspoken, yet unmistakably implied, is...

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/what-about-the-battery-charging-policy-2 Has the government forgotten about battery swapping? RN Bhaskar – September 12, 2019 When the government announced its plans to usher in electric vehicles (EVs), it was jumping the gun.  It should have worked on a battery policy first.  Why? The following...