For half a century, India's per capita growth went up by ~1 percentage point per decade.

1. Should settle debate against low estimates of sustainable growth rate

2. Does not mean leadership does not matter. Means voter choice also gets impacted by more prosperity and coherence.

Dr. Ambedkar in his magazine says 'Savarkar's contribution to the cause of the Dalits was as decisive as that of Gautama Buddha himself.'

डॉ. आंबेडकर त्यांच्या मासिकात म्हणतात, 'दलितांच्या कार्यासाठी सावरकरांचे योगदान हे स्वतः गौतम बुद्धांइतकेच निर्णायक होते.'

India ordering a huge bulk of global passenger aeroplanes manufacturing capacity. That is by itself good, and must be noticed. But notice China is creating Comac as a competitor to Airbus and Boeing. We need long term state fiscal support to create our own national champion here.

The Economics of Political Hinduism

youtube.com/watch?v=kyUtiL…

A brief discussion between HindolSengupta and myself. Always great to chat with Hindol.

Dharma - multitudes, not platitudes.

Good to see Mr Uday Kotak call for capital account convertibility. We need to get out of a defensive mindset and realise that within a decade, INR will have certain advantages that the yuan and euro may not have, never mind the yen and the pound. Nothing to fear but fear itself.

Biggest econ questions can be summed up in 2x2 I made up.

Econometrics doesn’t have answers for this. Needs qualitative treatment. Two axes are:

(1) divergence vs convergence
(2) stagnation vs acceleration

I am somewhere top-right. Convergence and acceleration. Where are you?

ॐ गं गणपतये नमो नम:
श्री सिध्धीविनायक नमो नम:
अष्टविनायक नमो नम:
गणपती बाप्पा मोरया

Indian forex reserves rise 7th consecutive week. New all-time highs. ~$650B plus forward book.

This is when real big flows have not begun - FDI, FII equity/bonds. To happen in 2nd half of CY/FY, post-India election + with Fed cuts.

War chest builds but will have to pace itself.

In 10 years, India should target 10m net new white collar expats (~3-4m families/couples) w/ PCI of $100k+. Need:

-Lower tax rates, larger base, fewer exemptions
-Urban infra, police/judicial reforms, hybrid work focus
-PR program, naturalisation path, maybe dual citizenship…

This is a real compliment from Chinese media towards India – spending time churning out such nonsense. This isn’t going to make Tesla rethink its investment decisions but it does tell a global audience of the immense sour grapes in some parts of China with respect to 🇮🇳’s growth.

Articulate, empathetic and thoughtful. Looks like this woman could be an excellent writer if she wanted to :)

Today, we pay homage to the great Mahatma Phule on his Jayanti. A visionary social reformer who dedicated his life to fighting injustice and promoting equality, his thoughts give strength to millions. His relentless efforts in the field of education and women empowerment have…

1977 is an under-appreciated moment between 1947 and 1991. The entire India story rests on its democracy.

Without democracy, no united India was or is possible. It is not the democracy tax, it is more the democracy premium. Democracy gives us scale and scale gives us innovation.

My First Video of Many!

Indian Politics 101: Episode 1 - The Path to Partition

I cover:

The Maratha Empire's idea of Swaraj, the expansion of the British Raj, as well as the motivations & mechanisms behind the Partition of India.

Couldn’t be two better minds for UGC from the private sector than Sridhar Vembu and Ashish Chauhan - looking forward to some positive changes and reforms.

Had an interesting discussion with कुशल मेहरा on issues relating to measurement of poverty in India.

Do watch if you’re interested to know more about how India eliminated extreme poverty - what it means - and the way forward!

youtube.com/watch?v=R7VQxO…

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support. My first book, 'Nastik: Why I Am Not an Atheist,' is finally available for PRE-ORDER on Amazon! Reserve your copy and join me in this journey from neo-atheism to Nirīśvaravāda #Nastik
amzn.in/d/bnUvObo

A few years ago, during the pandemic, a Zoho customer and fan, Mr Abdul Gafoor, who owns Mr Light Global, a major own-brand distributor of electrical and electronics products in the Middle East (and now in India), came to see me in Tenkasi with a box full of hand held tools from…