The CARES Act Trump lost the US Presidential election primarily because of his irresponsible response to Covid-19. Despite the mounting death toll from the spread of the virus, Trump aggressively promoted defiance of masking and social distancing – a policy endorsed by his own administration! The in-person rallies he held across the US, with the […]
Unintended Consequences of Policy Choices Read More »
Over the financial year 2019-20, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the Repo rate (the rate at which RBI lends money to commercial banks) by 1.85%, from 6.25% at the beginning of the year (April 1, 2019) to 4.4% by March 31, 2020. The reductions in the Repo rate not only resulted in reductions
Santiago is the protagonist in both the novellas, Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez and The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. The celebrated stories by the two Nobel Laureates in Literature present two perspectives on man and life, described through the events that engulf the lead character in their
COVID-19 and Santiago Read More »
‘Waiting for Godot’ is a play written by Samuel Beckett soon after World War II finally ended when US dropped atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August 1945. The play captures the meaninglessness of existence experienced by humanity in the post war era as it attempted to come to terms with the devastation
This is about the book, ‘The Plague’, written shortly after World War II by Albert Camus. The allegorical work is narrated in five parts. The first part deals with a sudden infestation of dead rats, which is initially not taken note of by the people of Oran, as plague had been conquered long ago. The
‘The Plague’ and the Lockdown Read More »
Since the lockdown, I have received calls, messages and mails from people I had not been in touch with for years. I too contacted people I had not bothered to stay connected. I have been deriving so much pleasure from inconsequential conversations with forgotten relationships. What explains this sudden surge in bonhomie that has taken
Coronavirus and Mahabharata Read More »
Sweden is the only country that is affected significantly by coronavirus and yet has resisted imposing a lockdown. While in the rest of the afflicted world, governments have imposed lockdowns, the Swedes have left it to individuals to take the precautions required while going about their normal routines. Politically it is expedient for governments to
Lockdowns: A Point of View Read More »
The Relief Package On March 26, the government announced a series of measures to provide relief from the lock-down to the marginalized in society. The key measures proposed were the following: 1. 80 crore poor people will receive additional 5 kg of grains and 1 kg of pulses per family, per month for the next three
Economic Response to COVID-19 : A Case for Revised Budget Read More »
On March 27, the Reserve Bank of India announced a clutch of measures to enhance the liquidity of financial markets and thereby improve the flow of credit. This article provides brief description of the key measures with analysis of how effective they would be, and suggests what remains to be done to deal with the
The RBI Measures of March 27, 2020 Read More »
Authors: Samir K Barua and V Raghunathan March 13, the government approved RBI’s ‘Scheme of Reconstruction’ of Yes Bank proposed under Banking Regulations Act, 1949. The key features of the scheme were: a) restrictions on withdrawal of deposits from the bank, b) permanent write down of the AT-1 bonds issued by the bank, and c)
Lessons from the Yes Bank Fiasco Read More »
