Policy Watch

Policy Watch Financial traps through Aadhaar and NPCI RN Bhaskar In the last week of September, government officials were rudely shaken by questions raised by Moody's Investors Service regarding the reliability of Aadhaar, specifically concerning biometric technology's effectiveness in India's hot and...

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...

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/iip-confession-time-and-for-atonement/1526942 Sins of commission and omission find reflection in the latest IIP figures RN Bhaskar – 16 May 2019 For months the government has stonewalled criticisms about job creation and economic growth. But now there is a grudging admission that economic growth...

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/is-india-headed-for-further-currency-depreciation/1470652 Unproductive spending could easily lead to further currency depreciation RN Bhaskar February 28, 2019 Turning and turning in a widening gyre//The falcon cannot hear the falconer.//Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold . . . . . WB Yeats, The Second Coming The...

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/policy-watch-is-google-using-its-power-and-popularity-responsibly Google brush with the regulators in India But many answers are not forthcoming RN Bhaskar Google is expected to do the unusual all the time.  It has many firsts to its credit. It changed the search engine ecosystem.  The music video environment....

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/policy-watch-maharashtra-wants-to-raise-money-through-an-unequal-na-tax-even-while-waiving-other-taxes Maharashtra's new, unfair and controversial, real estate tax laws RN Bhaskar In December 2021, the government of Maharashtra began sending non-agricultural tax (NA Tax) demand notices to residents in some parts of Mumbai. This was based on legislations that the state...

http://freepressjournal.in/editorspick/will-fossil-fuels-see-a-decline-in-coming-decade/1209623 Fossil fuels may march into the sunset — By RN Bhaskar | Jan 25, 2018 08:23 am   Will fossil fuels see a decline in the coming decade? RN Bhaskar In October last year, Dharmendra Pradhan, Union minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG); Minister...

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/policy-watch-budget-2022-is-high-on-big-plans-short-on-a-reality-check Budget-22: Sightless and derelict RN Bhaskar Everybody was aware that the three critical problems confronting India are unemployment, health, and education. One expected Budget-22 to address them. To some extent, the employment issue may have been addressed (not entirely though).  But health...

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/policy-watch-wrong-diagnosis-and-refusal-to-accept-warning-signals-were-responsible-for-indias-slippage India's economy - the clock is invariably slow Ah! the clock is always slow.// It is later than you think – Robert W Service (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46651/it-is-later-than-you-think) RN Bhaskar There was a time when most people had the confidence that the economy would be pulled...

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/policy-watch-indias-markets-and-the-economy Markets and the Indian economy RN Bhaskar One could call it bittersweet. There are plenty of reasons for feeling happy, even euphoric. By Friday last week, the stockmarkets had revived – after initially slumping. The BSE Sensex had crossed the 60,000...