All stories by A K BHATTACHARYA
Don't Make It A Pre-Election Budget, Nirmalaji
Rediff.com17 Nov 2022The need of the hour for the government would be to tighten its fiscal belt, recommends A K Bhattacharya.
Revealed: How PM Planned Demonetisation
Rediff.com8 Nov 2022November 8 marks 6 years after demonetisation. A K Bhattacharya reveals how the prime minister and the RBI worked together for months before Modi's 8 pm speech. A riveting excerpt from The Rise Of Goliath: Twelve Disruptions That Changed India.
How Long Will GST Growth Continue?
Rediff.com27 Oct 2022It is now becoming increasingly clear that rising imports have played a significant role in sustaining the buoyancy in revenues from GST, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Vishnu Purana Explains The Caste System
Rediff.com25 Oct 2022The Vishnu Purana, notes A K Bhatacharya, ends on a sombre note, but not without offering the hope that those who chant Vishnu's name can still reclaim dharma.
Modi Ignores Vajpayee's Mahaul Mantra
Rediff.com12 Sep 2022Never before has the need for creating an ambience for economic policy reforms been as critical as it is now, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Capex Has Taken New Turn Under Sitharaman
Rediff.com22 Jun 2022The dividends for the economy from such a rapid rise in capital expenditure would be huge, observes A K Bhattacharya.
Will Modi Revive Farm Laws?
Rediff.com6 Apr 2022But it would be unwise on the government's part not to heed the suggestions made by the experts group, set up by the Supreme Court, in particular the one on involving the states and giving them the flexibility in designing and implementing the farm laws, observes A K Bhattacharya.
3 Things To Note About The Budget
Rediff.com16 Feb 2022Budget for 2022-2023 has returned to its agenda for protectionism in the name of creating a self-reliant India, points out A K Bhattacharya.
GST Collections: No Cause For Elation
Rediff.com3 Feb 2022The broad trends of GST collections will make you wonder if indeed the biggest indirect tax reform in the country has led to a real improvement in revenues, notes A K Bhattacharya.
This Budget Is Harder Than Last Year's
Rediff.com28 Jan 2022The challenges before the coming Budget are more daunting than those in 2021, reveals A K Bhattacharya.
Covid Challenge: Managing The Spending Bulge
Rediff.com5 Jan 2022If the Centre and states are keen on spending more to meet the COVID-19 challenges in the coming year, they must bear in mind the need to raise more resources through taxes and non-tax revenues, suggests A K Bhattacharya.
What will Nirmalaji do in her fourth Budget?
Rediff.com20 Dec 2021The finance minister could well be on her way to setting a record of achieving the biggest single-year reduction in the government's fiscal deficit, explains A K Bhattacharya.
Farmers stir has changed politics and policy-making
Rediff.com4 Dec 2021The Centre's retreat from the farm laws is likely to have a significant bearing on the fate of laws that the Centre has made, for instance, in labour and electricity, predicts A K Bhattacharya.
What will Maharaj do after Maharaja is sold?
Rediff.com25 Nov 2021There is no reason for keeping an entire ministry with a total staff strength of 2,300, just for the oversight of a few aviation sector laws and regulatory bodies, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Time to BREAK IAS Stranglehold
Rediff.com18 Nov 2021The government must send out a clear signal that leadership positions at regulatory bodies are not a preserve of retired government officials, argues A K Bhattacharya.
How Centre is squeezing states' revenues
Rediff.com12 Nov 2021This may lead to the states' combined fiscal deficit to widen much faster, while the Centre may show a smaller or insignificant slippage in meeting its deficit target. The Centre will celebrate over its fiscal prudence, but the states would suffer, A K Bhattacharya points out.
Modi Must Fix His Problems With The States
Rediff.com5 Oct 2021Given the many policy areas where the Centre and the states have not been seeing eye to eye in the last few years, it is time the Modi government convenes a meeting of the Inter-State Council, recommends A K Bhattacharya.
Modi Sarkar Isn't Allergic to Privatisation
Rediff.com3 Sep 2021But use of that word -- privatisation -- is not encouraged. This seems to be a classic case of reforms through subtle signals, observes A K Bhattacharya.
Reforms Need New Governance!
Rediff.com24 Aug 2021Till such time that a new governance framework comes into being, the progress of reforms in health, education, land, labour, electricity and agriculture could remain fraught with problems, agitations and delays, observes A K Bhattacharya.
Do we need so many income tax staffers?
Rediff.com11 Aug 2021The preliminary processing of tax returns is already undertaken with the help of technology. There is now greater scope of using more technology to reduce the human interface even further, notes A K Bhattacharya.