One of the features of the current Saradha scam which is distinct from other such scams like the Sanchayita, in West Bengal, is that majority of the people who deposited money in Saradha are rural poor people. Why did rural poor people keep their money in fraudulent companies like Saradha and not in small savings schemes of the government? This is a very important question which needs to be looked at to pin point the role of the central government and state governments in facilitating the activities of companies like Saradha.
The pursuance of neo-liberal ideology has run out of policy options to take the Indian economy out of the current crisis. That is the message of this year's union budget.
The third tier of the government, viz. the Municipal Corporations, the Municipalities and the Panchayats, is increasingly being told to become financially ‘self-sufficient’. This note provides a critique to this approach of financing the third tier of government.
A short note on the concept of Paradox of Thrift and its misunderstandin
Prof.Robert Pollin, Economics Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst reviews Prof. Prabhat Patnaik's latest book, "Value of Money". The review is attached along with this post.
"The recent crisis in global financial markets has clearly demonstrated the shortcomings of a deregulated financial regime." writes Vineet Kohli an Economist with Economic Research Foundation
This article tries to estimate the extent of joblosses in India as a result of the economic down turn.
Even in the face of global financial crisis, the Indian Government has not shed the neo-liberal fiscal conservatism. The so called fiscal packages announced by the Government is a testimony to this, writes Prof. C.P. Chandrasekhar.
Pragoti's Subhanil Chowdhury comments on the government's steps taken to curb inflation in India, the overall strategy on growth and the recent fiscal stimulus package.