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Thought Leader Session with Chief Economic Advisor - Dr. K V Subramanian

• Apr 20, 2021 | The Hindu BusinessLine

India’s contribution was 33% of global GDP for 17 centuries, while the United States is dominant for only about half a century: CEA

Commerce and wealth were intrinsic to India’s DNA for several centuries and the country’s economic demise began when it moved away from these values, Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian said on Tuesday.

Inflation targeting is no miracle cure but it's the best available - Prof. Vidya Mahambare

• Apr 11, 2021 | LiveMint

The debate over the suitability of flexible inflation targeting (FIT) for India again gained momentum after a recent presentation by a group of economists. The backdrop of this attack on the FIT regime is the announcement that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to continue with its Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation target of 4% +/-2% for the next five years. The presentation makes the following key claims, among others. First, FIT led to higher than desired real interest rates, with adverse consequences for economic growth, in recent years. Second, the moderation in inflation under the FIT regime is almost exclusively due to a consistent decline in global inflation and slower increases in minimum support prices for farm produce, and should not be attributed to the policy shift.

Contrasting stories of economic transition from a trio of states - Prof. Vidya Mahambare

• Apr 05, 2021 | LiveMint

Three major Indian states—Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal—are currently holding assembly elections for state government formation. How do these three compare in terms of their economic progress and what does their future hold?

Tamil Nadu at present has the highest per capita real income, calculated as real net state domestic product (NSDP) divided by population, although it was lagging behind Kerala at the start of the last decade. An average person in West Bengal is roughly at the halfway mark in terms of economic prosperity compared to the two southern neighbours, although it was almost at par with them in the early 1990s.

Tamil Nadu left Punjab, Bengal far behind. Here’s what it needs to do now - Professor Vidya Mahambare

• Apr 01, 2021 | The Print

Tamil Nadu has followed controversial social inclusion and welfare policies, partly aimed at electoral gains, such as free distribution of consumer durables. It has a near-universal coverage of the public distribution system (PDS), which not only provides highly subsidised food grains but is also used to distribute cash support and gift hampers during festivals. In 2011-12, PDS was used by 73 per cent of rural and 64 per cent of urban households. Tamil Nadu is one of the first states in India to provide nearly free basic food to urban poor, who are usually left behind in terms of welfare policies, and has one of the better-run public childcare facilities and healthcare system.

An Update on the New Wage Policy - Professor Vidya Mahambare

• Mar 31, 2021 | Outlook Money

The maze of exclusions and inclusions have left the salaried employee confused and anxious, says Prashant Sawant, who had co-founded Catalyst Wealth. “Most of the organisations have their basic salaries lying somewhere around 35 per cent to 45 percent of the total cost to the company. This will change now. The basic salary will now have to be a minimum of 50 per cent of the CTC. Allowances such as HRA, leave travel and conveyance will have to be restricted to 50 per cent of the CTC,” he says. Since the basic pay forms the basis for provident fund as well as gratuity contributions, any increment to the same in order to adjust allowance payments exceeding 50 per cent of the CTC, as the new law mandates, would have a direct bearing on both these contributions.

An Agricultural Employment Study by Prof. Vidya Mahambare

• Mar 25, 2021 | LiveMint

Agriculture and allied sectors account for about 18% of the Indian economy, but around 40% of employment. How do we reconcile this with the reports we hear of shortages of farm labour? What is the true extent of farm employment in India and how does it differ in states which have traditionally been agriculture- focused vis-à-vis others? Using estimates derived from unit-level data of the Employment and Unemployment Survey, 2004-05, and the Periodic Labour Force Survey, 2018-19, we investigate age-wise, gender-wise and state-wise changes in India’s employment pattern, with agriculture as our focus.

COVID Impact on Household Budgets - Professors Trichy Krishnan, Ashish Rathore & Suresh Ramanathan

• Mar 16, 2021 | The Hindu BusinessLine

A comparison between Karnataka and the Rest of India shows the differences in distribution of the workforce, with wage labourers forming only 10 percent of the workforce in Karnataka while they formed 16 per cent in the Rest of India. Self-employed entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs and white-collar professionals however accounted for 57 per cent of the workforce in Karnataka but only 33 per cent in the Rest of India. Interestingly, there was no major difference in loss of income between the rural and urban population: the percentage drop was almost the same. However, what was more intriguing was how people planned to cope with the loss in income. Unlike rural households, which appeared more inured to the loss of income, urban households were more likely to sell assets such as their cars to cope.

Distinguished Thought Leader Session with Dr. Simon Galpin

• Mar 15, 2021 | India Education Diary

Dr. Simon Galpin, Managing Director, Bahrain Economic Development Board graced Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai in a virtual thought leadership session organized by the institute. Dr. Simon addressed a strong audience of 450+ participants and shared his insights based on his experience and observations over the years. During the event, Dr. Simon touched upon some key aspects and spoke about the recent trends in the FDI promotion in a post-COVID world and its implication for millennials. He started by saying that India has a large group of millennials and it is the nation’s strength.

Distinguished Thought Leader Session with Prof. Devika Subramanian

• Mar 03, 2021 | New Indian Express

"There is such a huge amount of data available in the world today and we can gather it at relatively low costs. A lot of people use data for various reasons. For instance, societies like China track every single data to control. In London, because of IRA, there are cameras all over. But Devika has been trying to research how we can use all this data to help answer questions that really matter to us. "I'm a problem solver. I love the sience I do, but at the end of the day, I want science to help someone else. That's how I choose my projects," she says.

Distinguished Thought Leader Session with Mr Narayana Murthy

• Feb 19, 2021 | Times of India

“I am happy about the National Education Policy (NEP). It aims to improve the quality of education in the country,” said Infosys founder Narayana Murthy. “We must recognise that the need of the game is to transform our children from reactive and apathetic people to proactive, problem recognisers and problem solvers. That is the most important need today,” he said at the ‘Thought Leadership Series’ organised by Great Lakes Institute of Management. “We have to instill in the minds of youngsters things like curiosity; problem solving; open mindedness; pluralism; respect for others’ opinions and views; respect for other cultures; not being afraid of learning outside India and Socratic questioning in our children.