Economic Reforms

Fabian socialism held India back after 1991 reforms: A Greenspan view

In his 2007 memoir, Alan Greenspan praised India's reforms but argued that lingering socialist policies and bureaucracy were holding back its economic potential

Cuba calls for free-market reforms in major economic shift since revolution

Observers on Friday called Cuba's new free-market reforms the most sweeping economic overhaul of the island's communist economy since the Cuban revolution, as the grandson of former president Raul Castro said in an interview that Cuba must seek to move its economy forward. The 176 measures aim to further decentralise Cuba's state-run economy, which has been left gasping by a tightened embargo under US President Donald Trump. Under the island's current economic model, the government largely determines what is produced, who produces it, the prices at which goods are sold and how the country's resources are allocated. The plan includes more space for private businesses, imports and exports without state intermediation, free hiring of personnel, authorisation for private banks and investment by Cubans abroad. It even permits fast-food chains to establish themselves on the island. "Elements that for decades were listed as pillars of the revolutionary economy, such as the state monopoly

The rupee's problem runs deeper than West Asia war and oil price surge

While foreign firms have been reluctant to invest in India, Indian firms have been expanding their investment abroad

Europe is finally beginning to reinvent itself for a changing world

Europe is accelerating efforts to strengthen its economy through market integration, industrial support and tougher trade measures, while reducing reliance on US policy under Donald Trump

12 years of NDA in power: PM Narendra Modi says reforms to continue

Prime Minister says reforms are a matter of conviction, not compulsion, as NDA leaders felicitate him for becoming India's longest-serving elected prime minister

A slippery slope: Why India must prioritise growth over rupee fears

High oil prices, a weakening rupee and global capital shifts demand bold policymaking to protect growth and build resilience against external shocks

India's investment slowdown is a fallout of deeper structural shifts

Taken together, the Indian economy requires some mechanism for stimulating private investment in the real economy

IBC@10: Insolvency and bankruptcy code's administration needs improvement

The recent IBC (Amendment) Act, 2026, aims to strengthen the law and improve outcomes

A big push in economics: Special times call for special initiatives

The last time the domestic private sector achieved a one-year gain of net fixed assets above 20 per cent in nominal terms was 2009-10

1973 and now: How Indira's self-destructive responses are instructive today

An oil shock, monsoon fears, rampant unemployment, and the seeming inevitability of inflation, are common to both eras. Indira Gandhi's self-destructive responses are instructive today

Stability and growth: India needs to accelerate its pace of reforms

It is worth recognising that the global business environment has changed over the past few years, and a country like India has to improve its business environment more proactively

India has an opportunity to become a natural absorber of global savings

There are moments (like the present) when current account deficits are widening in response to shocks, but our system has a well-developed playbook for dealing with these

Tamil Nadu: Moving on from good to great with growth push, $1 trillion goal

The turnaround is the result of TN's faster growth following the 1991 reforms, with its per capita GDP growing at 5.8 per cent per annum, compared to 4.7 per cent for India as a whole (1994-2023)

Modernising our society through education, skills and inter-caste marriages

Persistent caste inequality, limited inter-caste mobility and unequal access to quality education and jobs continue to slow India's social modernisation despite decades of economic growth

Housing finance must be part of India's next economic reforms agenda

India's six largest cities contribute nearly half to housing and mortgage volumes but lenders with scale shy away from deeper geographies

Thank you, Mr Trump: Why India has changed its mind on trade deals

With the UK, EFTA deals already in the bag, EU on the way, almost every member of RCEP except China signed up, and even restrictions on China being lifted, India has changed its mind on trade

How 1985-95 still stands out as the most consequential decade in India

You'd think the decade of 1985-95 is long over. Not really. The issues that erupted in that decade are still shaping Indian conversations

2026 to bring data, policy, tax changes; labour codes, CBAM to take effect

With new GDP, CPI and IIP base years, sweeping tax reforms, GST overhaul, labour code rollout and EU's carbon tax, 2026 is set to reshape India's economic, regulatory and labour landscape

UK govt needs to find four top economists after crises force exits

A series of crises has left two vacancies at the top of the UK statistics body and one at the Office for Budget Responsibility, the fiscal watchdog

Manmohan Singh was no free market ideologue: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Manmohan Singh was not a free-market ideologue but a reformer guided by pragmatism, integrity, and faith in the state's developmental role, says Ahluwalia