It is truly depressing. I'm getting this strong urge to shut down my efforts and simply turn away from India. The stupid India government does ONE good thing in years, and there are MILLIONS of Indians crying "foul"! FDI is not even 100 per cent. Just 51 per cent. And yet there are people debating […]
Category: India
Aseem Trivedi case now a major milestone in India’s journey towards liberty
I'm delighted with the news on FDI. But I'm even more delighted with the stance of the Bombay High Court in the ridiculous arrest of Aseem Trivedi for "sedition". This vicious attack by the court of the Government's case will send shivers down the spine of those who seek to destroy liberty in India. Well […]
India begins its next reform journey. Now for governance, training and regulatory reform.
I'm delighted to hear that FDI in retail, airlines and broadcast has been opened up by India. Very delayed, but never too late. Now it also the time for key governance reforms. a) Electoral reforms. Three simple reforms. b) Training reforms. Open up the VET sector (and partially subsidise) to foreign investment c) Regulation-making reforms: […]
Sabhlokniti = Chanakyaniti + a little more liberty => FTI policy (?)
I find myself agreeing with many things Chanakya wrote (if these are taken broadly, not precisely: e.g. when he says that Ministers must be paid 800 times more than the lowest government functionary, I'm considering the broad recommendation to pay Ministers well, not the precise figure of 800). Policies on which I agree with Chanakya […]
Chanakya: Pay your Ministers very heavily. But then hold them to account.
Instead of running about like headless chicken, Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal would do well to read Chanakya. In Chanakya they will find THE main solutions to the problems facing India. Without a corruption-free system, the Mauryan empire – which was the largest in Indian history and the largest (in relative terms) the world has […]
Chanakya would have been shocked at the quality of populist leaders democracy throws up
Chanakya was a firm believer in merit. His writings are designed to impart political and economic education for those who rule India. He is comprehensive and detailed, the Shakespeare of political and economic philosophy: a genius in whose work we find new meaning each time we read it (I must admit I was sceptical about […]
The Golden Bird (India) was created on the foundations of worldly knowledge
Chanakya wrote three books: Arthashastra, Chankya Niti and Chanakya Sutras. The last of these has proved fertile source material for a number of modern management books (e.g. Ashok Garde's). As part of my studies on Hindu Capitalism, I'm first compiling key original Sanskrit texts with the intention of double-checking references. (Btw, I find that although […]
The tip of the iceberg of Indian political funding
This is an excellent development: public discussion on political funding in India. I'm pleased that political party donations, being tax exempt, are now being subject to public scrutiny. This development was long overdue. Even though many of these contributions are questionable (being bribes, not voluntarily made), these funds are now "white" money. But […]