An Open Letter to Anna
A rough estimate of how much candidates spend in one election cycle in India Parliament, assemblies, municipalities and panchayats puts the the figure at approximately Rs 35,000 crore.
View ArticleCoal scam: Brace for an anti-climax
For a scandal that has rocked the political system and paralysed Parliament, five FIRs against mid-level companies and faceless mid-level bureaucrats will be a stunning anticlimax.
View ArticleHow to cash in on dormant coal blocks
Did the government really assume that gutka makers, stock market traders and politically-backed shell companies really wanted to use the coal to fuel steel and power plants? Or did most want to twist...
View ArticleThe myth of big retail
The strong opposition to the entry of the big boys of global retail is as exaggerated as the claims made by the government of the benefits they will bring.
View ArticleFDI, farmers & a handful of salt
During the recent debate, the anti-FDI brigade said FDI retailers would ruin Indian farmers by tying them into enslaving contracts. The pro-FDI political parties said it would bring farmers untold...
View ArticleMaharashtras Watergate: How money flows
The birth of Maharashtras current model of irrigation corporations began during the Sena-BJP regime, inspired by the Gujarat model of corporations that issued bonds to fund their projects.
View ArticleThe Pur(e)ti truth about Nitin Gadkari
This week, we had an unusual television moment: BJP President Nitin Gadkari in our studios allowing himself to be grilled on questionable financial dealings and conflict of interest.
View ArticleBending the law or breaking it?
As an exercise, last week we placed whatever evidence had emerged about the questionable financial dealings of Nitin Gadkari and Robert Vadra before a panel of non-partisan experts: a corporate lawyer,...
View ArticleThe Thick of It: How the Sena won and lost Mumbai
In 1995, riding the Hindutva wave of post-Babri riots, the Sena-BJP alliance swept almost all of Mumbais 36 assembly seats.
View ArticleLeaks & delays: Making sense of the cash transfer system
Anecdotes abound of tardiness, no-shows, or BCs who have taken off with the money. An official at Aadhar estimates they will need 10 lakh BCs across India to make cash transfers work. Where will they...
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