India Votes Hope

One thing that has gone unnoticed in the Modi government is that it has not made any economic advisory appointments thus far. Increasingly it was seen that even before the government taking oath of office, several self-styled advisors appointed themselves in different positions. The reason for doing so is anybody’s guess....read more

DELIVERING TO AN ASPIRATIONAL INDIA
What’s should be the agenda for the great leap from India 1.0 to India 2.0? Undoubtedly, economic stability is a sine qua non. An economy can’t sustain the same speed if it has headwinds in the form of high inflation, weak currency and high debt burden and hence high interest rates. A report by
Team INCLUSION
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THE CURIOUS CASE OF FAILING EDUCATION REFORMS IN INDIA
Imagine this–thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of aspirants write a critically important test. Almost no one secures the pass mark. Now imagine that these are not students, but teachers and would be teachers of thousands of sought after schools across India. Wish it were just a nightmare. It is not.
Team INCLUSION peeks into the State of Education Reforms
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ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR THE DIFFERENTLY ABLED
The historical inactivity of decision-making has impacted disabled the most in India. Neither are any decisions taken to help them live with dignity, nor is anyone bothered about this small constituency, which is not a vote bank.
Team INCLUSION analyses
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INDIA VOTES HOPE
Sameer Kochhar
We had seen it coming for a long time – for three primary reasons. Disgust, hope and common sense. Disgust at the way the nation was being run, or not run; hope that it would someday all be rectified; and common sense that said someone would definitely come forward....read more

PLEADING THE FARMERS’ CAUSE The Indian farmer suffers in silence with only 30 per cent of the profit margins accruing to him for his production risks, weather-risks and marketing-risks, writes K G Karmakar	FOLLOW GUJARAT MODEL OF AGRICULTURE FOR FOOD SECURITY Having achieved almost double-digit growth for over a decade, Gujarat shows the way for other states as well, says Ashok Gulati
PROPELLING FINANCIAL DEEPENING One of the major mandates in the SEBI Act is to work towards the growth and development of the markets, says U K Sinha	COALESCE FINANCIAL REFORMS INTO AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY The problems are deep rooted and each segment of economic policy needs to be provided clear-cut objectives, says S S Tarapore
FOR MAKING INFRASTRUCTURE WORK Aspirational India is about creating a new paradigm for long-term goal setting. Successes in infrastructure development in Gujarat have become benchmark practices today, writes Rana Kapoor	TIME TO MAKE GROWTH EQUITABLE The whole concept of ‘good governance’ should be seen in the context of delivery by the agencies of the state. There is no magic wand, says Meenakshi Lekhi
REJUVENATING RURAL HEALTH SYSTEMS Besides a significant increase of targeted investments in health programmes and disease control, India also requires to improve other basic services in rural India, writes N C Saxena	TRANSFORMING INDIA THROUGH NEW WAVE OF DIGITAL REFORMS Ram Sewak Sharma suggests policy changes that are critical for next level of digital reforms
MODI’S MIDDLE AND ASPIRING INDIA This was perhaps the first time that a politician boldly wooed the middle and aspiring class. This exemplifies that India is now undergoing a churn, where the old order is giving way to the new, writes Rajesh Shukla	POLICY PARALYSIS IS A BOGEY; BUREAUCRACY MUST PERFORM Quite often, bureaucracy is shunned for its poor performance. Conducive environment and empowerment can change the way, writes Vinod Rai

NATIONAL INSURANCE: LEADING IN MOTOR INSURANCE
National Insurance Company (NIC) has been the most preferred choice for Motor Insurance since 1906. Over the years, NIC has retained this leadership in insurance market with a consistent share ranging from 15 per cent to 17 per cent of the industry’s motor insurance portfolio. Today, 48 per cent of the company’s gross revenue comes only from the motor segment ...read more

Economists Agonize Over a ModiNomics Budget
Atul K Thakur
The new government’s preferences are akin to the developmental thinking of Prime Minister, who puts priority on top and work on that. As clearly visible, the budget underlined some of the key visions configured in the first chapter from ModiNomics......read more

A Budget for Rural India
K G Karmakar
This budget is not about financial markets, not about reforms, not about kick- starting the economy and is also not about banking reforms and what have you. This is a solid budget for Rural India and if the rural economy is safe, India’s economic growth is not in doubt. This budget is aimed largely at Rural India and we need to look at it from a rural perspective and it begins to make sound economic sense. There are a whole lot of goodies for the rural sector, analyses K G Karmakar...read more

Indian Financial Sector on the Edge of a Precipice says Yashwant Sinha
Excerpts from an interview with Sameer Kochhar, Editor-in-Chief, INCLUSION
Question: What do you think of India’s financial sector performance?
Answer: We are really on the edge of a precipice in India as far as the financial sector is concerned. A declining, decelerating economy has created enormous problems for our public sector banks ...read more

Feedback - Inclusion:
Effective Leadership Is The Answer

The article by Mr Tarapore on the 'Financial problems of MSMEs' is an excellent piece, a well researched one. RBI, SIDBI et al should look at the issues flagged by the author and see that the MSME sector gets better deal. As he has mentioned it is more a 'glamour' in lending to larger units than MSMEs. See the way every banker has walked in to lend to King Fisher Airlines which has left a huge NPA of over Rs.7000 crore with very little hope of recovering it from the owners. Recently, the newspaper report mentions that the CBI when approached the SBI, the consortium banker to provide certain information on KFA, the latter had refused to do so. The RBI has also not taken any forensic study to see if any complicity in financing such large units. It is sad its own representatives are on the Boards of these banks which have lent huge loans to KFA and others. It is sad to see that Mr Mallaya is happily watching the IPL matches cheer-leading his cricket team while 1000s of KFA employees are in the lurch without any pay for months on. Will RBI listen to the cries of common man?
Dr S Santhanam PhD(Eco), CAIIB General Manager (Retd), NABARD & Consultant - Development Finance Pune

Feedback - Inclusion:
Ideas for Growth, October-December 2013

I appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister, Goa