The India infrastructure hype
RN Bhaskar
Last week, the government announced that it would be embarking on another large investment outlay for infrastructure. As a media report (https://indianexpress.com/article/india/govts-big-infra-push-nod-to-road-projects-worth-rs-50655-crore-9491780/) put it, “In a big push to infrastructure spending, the Union government Friday...
Policy watch
India excelled in the art of earning its wealth, not plundering it
By RN Bhaskar
This is a story not just for historians, but for India’s policymakers. It tells of how Indian entrepreneurship can be truly unlocked if they are...
http://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/can-the-us-push-oil-to-usd-250-a-barrel-r-n-bhaskar/1314064
The US roils the oil markets again
— By RN Bhaskar | Jul 12, 2018 07:31 am
Last week, Artem Avinov, leading analyst with TeleTrade, predicted that oil prices could jump to $250 per barrel if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked by...
http://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/r-n-bhaskar-pushing-e-payments-with-scam-potential-dangerous/1001041
ePayments and the scam potential
Try paying a bill of the MCGM (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) -- the epayments way -- through its web portal. It will be a vexing experience.
Half the payment gateways do not work This could...
https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/policy-watch-india-could-learn-a-lot-from-post-covid-19-spending-patterns-in-china
India must be forward looking, not defensive, as is evident frompost-Covid-19 spending-patterns
RN Bhaskar – 13 August, 2020
After a country has been hit by a pandemic, how should people spend money? Different cultures spend money differently. There are countries where...
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...
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...
Sep 24, 2015 12:19 am
Maharashtra is easily the largest consumer of electricity in India. According to estimates posted by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), it is expected to consume 149,773 million units (MU) during 2015-16, the next biggest...
US dollar: rumble stumble
By RN Bhaskar and Sakeena Bari Sayyed
Image: Gemini AI
The rumbling is now perceptible. The solid ground on which the US stood is now shaking under the feet. When Nixon nixed the gold standard by ending the...
http://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/rn-bhaskar-2017-looking-back-looking-ahead/997952
Retrospective 2016 – looking back; looking ahead on e-payments
There can be no doubt about it. If there is anything that 2016 will be remembered for in India, it will be the ‘de-legalisation’ of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes. Popularly referred...









































