http://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/slums-show-disrespect-of-politicians-for-democracy-r-n-bhaskar/1358963
India’s slums reveal politicians' contempt for democracy
— By RN Bhaskar | Sep 20, 2018
Legislators are supposed to uphold the Constitution. That includes a commitment to democracy, to free and fair elections. Unfortunately, India’s slums are testimony to the fact that politicians...
http://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/maharashtra-continues-to-slip-badly-r-n-bhaskar/1318763
Maharashtra's finances are in a precarious condition
— By RN Bhaskar | Jul 19, 2018
Maharashtra continues to stumble along. Vision has evidently given way to expedience. Basic accounting and book-keeping norms are being flouted. And the yardstick of what constitutes corruption...
How North India suddenly became richer, and paid more taxes despite profligacy
By RN Bhaskar
Image generated by http://deepai.org/
Go through the budget papers and you discover some strange numbers. North India has become the largest taxpayer. Hitherto, it was south and...
Economy indicators defy GST growth
By RN Bhaskar
Image generated through https://deepai.org/machine-learning-model/text2img
On 1 June 2025, the government announced that its GST collections had climbed 10% year-on-year (https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2022459).
Illusion of strength and health
It said that the GDP growth was “driven by a strong...
https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/gold-smuggling-turn-the-spotlight-from-kerala-to-govt-policies
Gold smuggling - I
Part II can be found at http://www.asiaconverge.com/2020/10/gold-smuggling-ii-a-cleanup-is-urgently-needed/)
A beneficiary of flawed government policies.
RN Bhaskar
There’s an apocryphal story about a man blinded because he stole the gold that he saw lying unattended on the table in his master’s...
R N Bhaskar
January 28, 2014
First, the good news. The government finally cleared a slew of projects worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore what had been gathering dust, possibly because it adopted a suitcase by suitcase approach towards clearances. There was also...
India and China warm up to each other. Russia could be the marriage-maker
RN Bhaskar
The last two months have been turbulent for India. In a way, this is a microcosm of what the world has witnessed during the past two...
https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/policy-watch-why-politicians-should-bear-the-cost-of-treating-covid-19-patients
Politicians promote slums, which worsen the Covid-19 spread. Now they should pay for the costs too.
RN Bhaskar – 25 Jun3 2020
The numbers of Covid-19 infections continue to soar. Two months ago, when this author talked about why slums could...
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/column-policy-watch-lost-mantra-of-grow-more-with-less-1949931
R N Bhaskar | Updated: Jan 13, 2014, 08:54 AM IST, DNA
The agony of fragmentation of agricultural land holdings in India is an old story. What is alarming is that, today, almost 67% comprise small holdings –...
http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-policy-watch-crisis-in-the-classrooms-2108078
Crisis in the classrooms
Cut through the hype that governments like to spin out. You then realise that India’s growth story is quite shaky. Its education related numbers (see chart) tell a very bleak story.
Of 100 students who went in...
