'With the big political job done, the time has come to pay attention to the economy, which is the main problem now,' argues T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'The majoritarian solution is what the BJP always prefers.' 'But this solution suffers from a major weakness: It ignores subjective preferences which can be important and non-negotiable,' points out T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'The Modi government, like the Singh one, has run into what is called a perfect storm, where everything that can go wrong does so at the same time,' points out T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'You can't consume clean air if you won't pay for it just because it's a 30-day problem,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

Good intentions are best left to political parties, governments and religious establishments, suggests T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'Should the most important part of economic reform not comprise the way we look at the fiscal deficit?', asks T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'In both places the minority was disproportionately powerful.' 'Few people acknowledge it but at its core the Tamil Nadu problem between the Brahmins and the rest was one of power.' 'In Kashmir the Hindus held most of the land and the accompanying political power, while the Muslims were the peasants and powerless,' notes T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

States could then stop complaining about the Centre and fashion their own economic destinies, says T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'Why do we make finance ministers go into contortions, to tell us that near 6% is 3.5%?' 'Why not encourage more open and full accounting so that the country knows the real picture,' asks T N Ninan.

'The Indian economy has become like a car that has the appropriate wheels on one side -- political liberalism -- and scooter wheels -- economic illiberalism -- on the other,' points out T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'Whether it is a good upgrade or not is something the judges will decide on the technicalities of the process, not substance. 'But they can't do much because of the constitutional fiction they themselves propounded with their "basic structure" formulation. 'That has not been violated because Article 370 was constitutionally temporary,' says T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'How do you deliver wealth when you don't have the slightest idea about it?' asks T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'An era of fiscal pessimism is setting in, which, if not countered intellectually, is going to have the same effect as export pessimism has had,' notes T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'An era of fiscal pessimism is setting in, which, if not countered intellectually, is going to have the same effect as export pessimism has had,' notes T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

''I have been saying for the last 25 years, to no avail naturally, that the only government asset that is politically unproblematic is land,' says T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

''I have been saying for the last 25 years, to no avail naturally, that the only government asset that is politically unproblematic is land,' says T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'He can at least invite them for tea in small groups once a month on Sundays.' 'If nothing else, he will have the pleasure of ruining their weekend,' suggests T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'The time has come to ask the extent of coercive power the State must arrogate to itself to achieve economic ends,' points out T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'If he were to ask me, I would tell Mr Modi that the real Congress legacy he has to undo is not Nehru's social and political philosophy -- which fits India perfectly -- but his daughter's economic philosophy,' says T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'A single seven-year term will free them from party pressures entirely,' says T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'The 2019 election could well become a referendum on Narendra Damodardas Modi, in which case the BJP could prove all its critics wrong,' notes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'...because of its permanent nature.' 'If you work for the private sector or for yourself, you are not regarded as being employed,' points out T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

The RBI governor has to convert the zero-sum game with the government from a non-cooperative one -- which his two predecessors had made it -- to a cooperative one, explains T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

Elections are about exploiting emotions and not things like roti, kapda and makan, a very senior BJP politician tells T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'Has the time come to devise Version 2 of ad hoc T-bills?' 'In return, the government must agree to privatise all but five or six banks.' 'If something like this is not done, we will have governments going on the rampage, with increasing frequency,' says T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

'When there is no middle ground possible between the government and the governor, the governor has to go.'

T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan recalls a tussle between the government and RBI when Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister and how it was resolved.

'The CBI must become a creature of the Constitution,' argues T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'All that Mr Modi needed to do was to call Urjit Patel over for a cup of tea and ask him nicely, and this fuss would never have happened.'

Even Subramanian Swamy, who says he is an ardent supporter of the prime minister, has been taking proxy pot shots at him.' 'At the ground level too, there is resentment from workers and local leaders who have perhaps not got whatever they may have wanted,' notes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'When you ask one of the established industrialists to execute a large project it is exactly the same as your not asking your neighbourhood dhaba-owner to cater at your daughter's wedding dinner which will be attended by a thousand guests,' notes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'It is entirely possible that Sonia Gandhi wants her son to be prime minister.' 'If so, it is game, set and match to the BJP,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'Vajpayee would not have approved either of the way the BJP now functions or of the thoughts that it entertains in its mind,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'The Constitution must reflect the reality of mature states because otherwise it is the Centre that will become irrelevant,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'The BJP and Congress are like those Bollywood lovers who are kept apart by their families where it is a generational problem of different values: The older ones think differently from the younger ones,' argues T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'His record will be clouded by the same negative factors as of Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao, namely, their politics and therefore social policies,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'In macroeconomic policy, timing is all, and by leaving things too late, Mr Modi may have made around 50 seats in the Lok Sabha highly vulnerable,' says T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.

Many important RSS people believe the 2014 result was the consequence of Hindutva and not just Modi's outstanding oratory, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

'A gig economy is more suited for superior economic outcomes.' 'You try to create an environment where people can earn more.' 'This is what should happen in India. Indeed it is already happening,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.