The next government's biggest challenge

A major financial crisis, involving severe deflation seems unavoidable

It now looks as if Narendra Modi will get a second term. What will his biggest economic problem be? No prizes for guessing: money.

As one looks at the fiscal performance of  governments all over world in the last 35 years, the question has refused to go away: Should they loot, tax or borrow – or indulge in all three to meet their expenditures? 

In the bad old days, they simply looted. All a chief needed was  gang of hooligans, grandly called an army.

Then came civilisation which meant a deal between the rulers and the ruled that the latter