INDIA
Nuclear Energy: India’s private sector plans must get roles-responsibilities and the comms right
Private entry into nuclear energy holds promise. But poorly conceptualised and unclear roles-responsibilities, skewed risk-return frameworks, lack of contractual clarity and effective dispute resolution frameworks have harmed public-private partnerships. Effective communications and informing positive public opinion, a key nuclear energy obstacle, needs addressing. India cannot miss the bus again
BUSINESS
GoI’s intent and targets for Infrastructure in Budget exemplifies Ram Se Rajya, Development Se Desh
The Interim Budget demonstrates the government’s commitment to strengthening infrastructure, pursuing the green transition and laying out a clear roadmap for the future. Its continued fiscal prudence even in an election year suggests a firm resolve for achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047
BUSINESS
Infrastructure and the Union Budget: Beyond numbers, a strong foundation for Viksit Bharat
Budget 2024: India will need to invest around Rs 880 lakh crore in infrastructure projects over the next 23 years to achieve the high growth rate required to meet its 2047 target of a developed country. The infrastructure requirements are also complex and dynamic with capital creation and destruction happening rapidly
BUSINESS
Words Matter, Actions Too: Leadership lessons from the Ivy League
It is perhaps poetic justice that a basic lesson of leadership should come from the hallowed portals of one of the most revered academic institutions and business schools in the world.
BUSINESS
Smoke, mirrors, and a chimera of promoter guarantees
Promoter’s personal guarantee first arose as an additional security for industrial loans made by banks and institutions in response to syphoning off funds and falsification of accounts by promoters. But over the years, it became a joke and now banks are putting in place stringent recovery systems
BUSINESS
Bhagvad Gita or Harvard: Why work ethic matters
The correlation between the number of hours of practice and expertise has long been recognised. Countries such as China, Japan and South Korea have proven it. India’s Gen Z will now have to dig deep to find the work ethic in its own cultural roots. That may be the only way forward
INDIA
Non-compete clause: Legitimate fees or monkey business?
A proposed merger of two media giants where a promoter-controller family would get hefty non-compete fees has put focus on the practice
BUSINESS
Credit Rating Actions: Bhasmasurs and the Theatre of the Absurd
Markets operate on the principles of logic, efficiency, and transparency. It is this that enables the trust of its participants and allows markets to function and grow
BUSINESS
Lehman to Evergrande: The long shadow of real estate-led economic crises
Any significant changes in China’s real estate sector will affect not only real estate companies, millions of Chinese households, investors, and banks, but will also have a direct impact on the resources of local governments, which have long relied on land bank monetisation to fund not only investments but also budget expenditure for its social sector commitments like pensions, hospitals, and education to citizens
BUSINESS
The King has retired. Long live the King
There is no doubt that the promoter-CEO deserves all of the accolades and praise. The central issue in this saga is the model of bank ownership and control. Banks, as opposed to corporations, are licensed businesses that accept public deposits at lower costs and then lend them out at a profit
BUSINESS
Bharat 2047: Leverage technology and markets for development in the age of climate change
Beyond economic and geopolitical factors and linear development paradigms, technological and climate change will determine the scope, scale and sustainability of development in 2047, the 100th year of India’s independence
WORLD
Lessons on deflation, demography & democracy from the China model
As China's political economy faces yet another challenge, it is time for the developing countries of the global South to reflect on the governance model that China offers and seeks to promote
BUSINESS
Governance & Startups: Incorporate values for better valuation
Risk and governance are two sides of the same coin. Yet both have remained confined to boardrooms and regulations rather than being absorbed as a part of corporate culture
BUSINESS
Like Rapunzel, corporate debt markets need to be released from the tower
The risks that the regulator sought to avoid by building its ivory tower over the decades have manifested themselves in unexpected crises that the regulator has struggled to deal with, as well as, sadly, in still underdeveloped debt markets
BUSINESS
Organisational Culture: Revisiting the first principles of sustainability
It is past time for economists and businesses to examine and recognize the truth illusions and survivorship bias inherent in what is currently peddled as corporate gospel
BUSINESS
Ending Colonial Overhang: Regulatory adjudication needs experts
India's financial markets have grown significantly. There are now many eminent persons of sterling market and legal reputation, experience and expertise available to serve in regulatory and adjudicatory bodies such as the Securities Appellate Tribunal.
