Page 2 - Gurbachan Singh

The rupee and foreign reserves: The larger story

It is argued that we should let the rupee find its own level - more so, when many other currencies are depreciating against the dollar. The low values of these currencies, however, are not sustainable

US moving towards normalcy, not recession

The inflation vs recession debate in the US is missing the larger point

Jobs and growth: A way out

Economic development tends to go hand in hand with urbanisation

Understanding inflation in the US

Lessons from economics and history need to be applied appropriately by the public authorities to the changing situations

Oil shock: What the RBI can do

The absolute oil price rises at a very high rate and the absolute prices of other goods and services rise somewhat at their usual rates

Overcoming the paucity of tools with RBI

The proposed policy regime may seem a bit strange to some readers

PLI scheme with a return for the government

Despite the massive opportunity cost of the PLI scheme, there is considerable enthusiasm amongst the proponents of the scheme

Rethinking the 100 new cities plan

It is true that in the last seven-eight years, there has been a build-up of unsold inventory of apartments in several cities

Reining in market irrationality

The consequence of all this is what we see, which is that stock prices can go haywire

Inflation tax over and above the oil tax

The oil tax is unlike, say, the income tax, which is progressive as the income tax rate rises with the income

Interest rates and asset prices

Low interest rates in a downturn tend to push up asset prices (and high interest rates in a boom can lower asset prices).

Inflation tax masquerading as dividend income

What we have is effectively a tax though it is subtle and non-transparent as it is collected indirectly through the RBI.

Using reserves: When, if not now?

India continues to be in urgent need of various supplies to deal with Covid-19

The questionable rationale for govt schemes

It is important to shift, in a phased manner, to a good and general policy framework from a situation of a plethora of schemes

Fiscal doves in India: right and wrong

The idea that fiscal prudence and welfare of the less well-off are mutually exclusive is misplaced

No high inflation or fiscal crisis in the US but …

Monetary base issued by the Fed had jumped from less than $1 trn before the GFC to more than $3 trn by early 2020 and then to about $5 trn by end of the year. But inflation has hardly gone up. Why?

Fast pace of reforms: Right and wrong

It is best to avoid "jhatka" economics, carry out incremental reforms on a continuous basis and do so in a number of sectors and regions.

Fiscal stimulus and investment

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures! This can mean a large deficit or the use of re-allocative and redistributive fiscal policies on a larger scale. Or, we can have a mix

Animal spirits: Right and wrong

It is true that though both low spirits and low real investment may be caused by a common set of economic factors

Are sovereign gold bonds a good idea?

Though SGBs were launched in November 2015, almost 35 per cent of the amount mobilised is in the current financial year