'India serves itself poorly with its latter-day discovery of Pakistan as an instrument in domestic politics,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
'Should you give a man fish, or teach him how to fish?' 'Lurking hidden in the new bout of welfarism seems to be an admission that the State can't deliver for the poor anything other than cash,' notes T N Ninan.
Sensex up just 6.5% while the best returns were during Manmohan Singh, with the Sensex soaring nearly 167.5%.
'What has taken the wind out of its sails is the government's own expectation management and its inability to strategise on delivery,' says Vikram Johri.
'Gloom is nowhere in sight, with healthy foreign exchange reserves, a strong rupee, healthy tax collections, corruption and crony capitalism under check,' argues Gopal Krishna Agrawal.
'If it is true that we are in a moment in time when the few economic advantages we hold are being lost, our focus must be on that rather than on finger-pointing,' says Aakar Patel.
Start your digital detox today before irreversible damage to health and mental complications stalk your life, advises Ramesh Menon.
Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, soaring over 4 per cent, followed by Titan, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Maruti and Dr Reddy's. Nifty advanced 89.45 points to its all-time closing peak of 17,323.60.
Quarterly earnings from IT majors Infosys and Wipro, macroeconomic data announcements and global cues would be the major drivers for the equity markets this week, said analysts. Leading IT companies Infosys and Wipro and other players such as Mindtree, Tata Elxsi and HDFC AMC would announce their financial results this week. Moreover, industrial production numbers, retail and wholesale inflation data would be released this week.
Analysts attribute this outperformance to the government's proactive economic reform measures
'Just as the BJP has been harnessing the power of religion for political purposes, Modi needs to harness the power of religious and corporate institutions for poverty alleviation,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
AIBOC in a letter to the Prime Minister, has said the government should not expect the banking fraternity to "join the political campaign of #MainBhiChowkidar" unless issues related to merger of banks, salary revision and staff recruitment, among others, are addressed.
'Course correction today would be good politics and also good economics,' notes T N Ninan.
'If the 'ideology' is just Hindutva, meaning cattle slaughter, temple issue, love jihad, joined with random acts on the side of economics and foreign policy, then we are in deeper trouble than we think,' says Aakar Patel.
Listening -- really listening -- to advisers in the government and outside would help. India has plenty of wise economists who have worked within the bureaucracy during previous crises, points out Rahul Jacob.
India's politicians need to do a better job of managing the economy: Inflation control, productivity improvement, etc, asserts T N Ninan.
Consumers are paying an exorbitant 180 per cent tax on petrol, and 140 per cent on diesel in Delhi and in most other towns in India. Little wonder then that the central government expects a staggering Rs 3.46 trillion by levying excise duties on retail sale of the two fuels this year, and Rs 3.2 trillion the next. States would generally have had reason to cheer, as they command a 41 per cent share in Centre's tax revenues. But as the Centre has raised excise duties in the form of "cess," the revenue proceeds are by nature not shareable with states.
Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday said that the country is witnessing 'politics of change' and called on the youth to make it successful.
Kicking off his two-day Haryana roadshow in Faridabad, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday slammed the Congress and BJP, saying gas prices will "increase manifold" if the two parties come to power.
In Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari has done pretty much as he liked, observes Aditi Phadnis.
The incoming government will have to encourage private investments, bring down cost of capital
'The UP election results show that people voted not on caste and religion lines; they went above that and voted for development, honesty, pride in the country, etc.' 'If UP can show the way, the rest of the country also can follow.'
Inflation data and global trends would be the major driving factors for the equity markets this week which after a record-breaking run took a breather in recent trades, analysts said. The overall market sentiment remains positive, supported by improving economic data and earnings but higher valuations can trigger bouts of profit booking, they said further. During the last week, which the 30-share BSE benchmark rose by 175.12 points or 0.30 per cent.
Bankers seem to be pleased with the government for keeping its promise of not interfering in operational matters, but are apprehensive about the intense scrutiny of their functioning.
Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, soaring nearly 6 per cent, followed by M&M, HDFC twins, Kotak Bank, ITC and Bharti Airtel.
The first quarter earnings season will dictate the trend in the equity markets in this holiday-shortened week amid absence of major macroeconomic drivers, say analysts. Besides, lacklustre global markets may increase volatility in the market, they added. Equity markets would remain closed on Wednesday for Bakri-Id.
After resorting to quirky measures like debarring party spokespersons from news channel debates, the opposition parties are now overhauling their organisational set-ups and purging respective executives, committees and wings to weed out non-performers and deadwood. Virendra Singh Rawat reports.
'The road ahead for the government's fiscal management will be full of many new challenges,' warns A K Bhattacharya.
'People are angry.' 'First notebandi, then GST, now losses on the farm have ruined us.'
'There are deliberations on whether there can be lowering of income taxes and other sops to keep more money in the hands of taxpayers, enabling them to spend more and boost demand.'
Failure to sell Air India, IDBI may have prompted a change in strategy.
Investors' wealth slumped over Rs 8.77 lakh crore on Monday as concerns over surging COVID-19 cases in the country roiled the equity market. The 30-share BSE benchmark index plunged 1,707.94 points or 3.44 per cent to close at 47,883.38. During the day, it nosedived 1,897.88 points to 47,693.44. Tracking losses in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies eroded by Rs 8,77,435.5 crore to Rs 2,00,85,806.37 crore.
'The principles on which a modern Republic should be governed are changing and taking dangerous turns,' warns Uddalok Bhattacharya.
There is talk of a fresh approach to a new labour code as well as reforming land acquisition laws in such a way as to be politically.
'All regulatory agencies must be made Constitutional bodies like the Election Commission, the Supreme Court, and the CAG.' 'That way they will become independent of the minister,' recommends T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'The Indian Right can afford to be rigid; but as liberals, our position has to be one of constant evolution, or else death awaits us,' argues Sreehari Nair.
Is there a conflict of interest in civil servants having a decisive say on the recommendations made by a Pay Commission or is it time for a new review mechanism, asks A K Bhattacharya.
From small restaurants to mighty software companies, it is businesses, not the government, that create jobs. Yet, in a cruel irony, they have to fight extortive and brutal State power every step of the way, says Debashis Basu.
Agriculture, social services, education, defence and so on will be brought into the digital fold and every gram panchayat will be connected to the internet.
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