Best of BS Opinion: Maharashtra govt formation, tax buoyancy, and more

Opinion and analysis on telecom companies' decision to raise tariffs and the way the government is responding to slowdown.

The unedifying drama over government formation in Maharashtra reminds us afresh of the moral bankruptcy of our political leaders. But as opinion page writers remind us today, there are other urgent issues that should be consuming government attention.

The government’s response to the growth slowdown shows that it is running a welfare state for the owners of capital instead of focusing on boosting labour incomes, the key problem of the Indian economy. Nitin Desai explains here why this is a flawed approach.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh critique of Narendra Modi’s poor economic management ignores the fact that many of the problems originated during his regime, writes Debashis Basu here

The bank’s industry wage pact, two years overdue, has become a bizarre performance appraisal based as it is on the paying capacity of the weakest banks, asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay here

A K Bhattacharya points out that declining tax buoyancy poses new challenges for sharing taxes with the states. Read it here

The edits examine the telecom companies’ decision to raise tariffs in December (read it here) and the imperatives to accelerate judicial reforms (read it here)

Quote of the Day

 

‘I am in the NCP and shall always be in the NCP and @PawarSpeaks Saheb is our leader. Our BJP-NCP alliance shall provide a stable Government in Maharashtra for the next five years…’

 

Tweet by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar