March 30, 2015

Setting the Right Retirement Age!

In the years to come, retirement age will play an increasingly important role in the framing of public policies of governments across the world. Retirement age has direct and indirect implications on the economic and social conditions in a society. […]
December 19, 2014

A perspective on the Impact of FDI on the Retail Sector

By Sibin Sabu* Any investment made by a company or entity based in one country, into a company or entity based in another country may be called Foreign Direct Investment. As per OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), the […]
November 5, 2014

Can I grow a forest- No says the state!!

By Rahul.V.Kumar*   Owning Forest Covers, Engaging Individuals and Communities Evidence of the State’s Handling of Forest All innovative measures introduced by the state to tame the rapid degradation of forests in India has not been able to generate positive […]
October 3, 2014

India’s Middle East policy is due for an overhaul

  By Eli Bernstein* It is no secret India is about to turn a corner and enter the world stage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is well positioned to steer India from a developing nation to a nation developed. However, this […]
August 26, 2014

“It is not your fault consumers!”- Understanding Kerala state’s historical mismanagement of the liquor market.

* Rahul V. Kumar The liquor policy of the government of Kerala announced last week, takes into account the dramatic rise in consumption in the state. However, it smacks trouble for the years to come. Although much time has passed […]
August 11, 2014

Constraint to long-term strategy: Understaffing in the Indian Foreign Service

By Padmini Gopal* India’s GDP of US$1.8 trillion and an expected growth rate of 6.4 per cent in the year 2015 is a testament to India’s present status as a rising world power. Moreover, India’s present nuclear competence and clout, with almost […]
July 21, 2014

Critical understanding of the Indian budget 2014-15: The Case of Excise on Cigarettes

Does a tax on cigarettes serve any purpose? For a layman seeing the budget figures of a very high excise rate on cigarettes would mean that it indeed makes the stick costlier and would lead to a reduction in its […]
July 9, 2014

The Mexican liberalization: some notes for India

About 50 years ago, it appeared that Mexico had found the recipe for economic growth that it needed. The import substitution model generated an average GDP growth of 6.8% annually between 1960 and 1981 (World Bank 2014). However, that model […]
July 2, 2014

What should be the State’s stand vis-à-vis the alcohol industry in India?

The growing debate around liquor consumption in Kerala following the delay in issuing the Abkari policy statement in 2014 provides suitable grounds to discuss several important issues surrounding liquor production and consumption in India. A discussion is essential as liquor […]
June 24, 2014

A Model for helping India’s Sports Sector

Introduction International events come and go but India has never been able to pose significant competition to sportsmen and women from across the globe. We have had a competitive hockey team which consistently won Olympic medals until the late 1970s […]
June 5, 2014

Planting saplings: Does our Environment Day start and end there???

Today, as I entered the main road, a rally of school children welcomed me. They were all having umbrellas decorated with leaves of various trees.  This was how; they celebrated the World Environment Day (WED). Yesterday onwards, there are advertisements […]
June 3, 2014

Big-data and the Market Mechanism

Introduction Big-data could be the game changer in future. Data and big-data are conceptually similar but the later differs technically due to the enormity in volume and the corresponding difficulty in storage. Big-data would imply information that is collected in […]
June 3, 2014

The Many Faces of a Social Media Campaign in General Elections India 2014

Introduction India has a very low number of people actively using social media networks though its increasing at a deafening pace. As late as December 2013, the number of such users were considered to be a little less than 100 […]
May 20, 2014

The Mature Market of Spiritualism and the Role of the State

This piece of writing does not evaluate the merits of the ideology behind gurus and institutions run by them. In fact, people are free to choose the best that suits them under the available conditions. And the freedom of choice […]
May 20, 2014

Moneylending in Kerala and the Unjustifiable Gimmicks of the State

Introduction The moneylending market in Kerala was a natural economic bubble. The bubble grew because the factors favoured it. Very few people can be blamed for it save the State for its inability to predict the case. Why? Because it […]
May 13, 2014

India General Elections 2014: A Muddled State of Affairs from the Youth Perspective

The Industrial Process of Electioneering From the start General Elections 2014 was no less than a functioning industrial unit, producing output in tonnes. The elections were a month long process where a population close to 814 million people were expected […]
March 29, 2014

Aam Admi Prime Minister: Scope and chances

Dr. D.Dhanuraj* A few days are left before the first batch of voters to go to the polling booths to select their representatives of 16th Lok Sabha. This time, unlike in the recent past, the most ferociously fought election with […]
March 6, 2014

Bad State of the State

By Rahul V. Kumar *   As I understood from a recent experience our system requires that we remain closer (in time) with the state and yet we should remain far (physically) from its reach. Now the question is “How […]
March 1, 2014

Expansion of RIMPAC Exercises to include Indian and Chinese Navies: An Assessment

By MA Athul* In June 2013 Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi announced that China will attend the Rim of the Pacific Exercises in June 2014.Yang made the announcement after the summit between US President Obama and Chinese president Xi Jingping[1]. […]
March 1, 2014

The ‘Third Front’ Politics aka power of Regional Politics and the ‘unanticipated 14th Prime Minister of India’

By D.Dhanuraj* The election commission is ready to declare the schedule of General Elections 2014. Political parties are busy in building alliances. It’s the coalition politics era in India! The main stream parties; Congress and BJP are still dilly dallying […]