We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
A long crisis with a lack of sound short-term, long-term actions can result in sluggish growth in India, similar to that in Japan.
The result is a big blow to the military establishment, revealing the limits of 'political engineering'. It reflected the anger of the electorate, especially its younger voters, who have spoken decisively against the persistent harassment and victimisation of Imran Khan's political party, asserts Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Indian cities need $840 bn investment over 15 yrs, says World Bank report.
Data on the new series given by a panel on real sector statistics shows that GDP grew by 10.23 per cent in 2007-08 and 10.78 per cent in 2010-11. There are some years for which the new figures show a deceleration in growth as well. The new series has 2011-12 as the base year while the earlier series had 2004-05 and 1993-94.
Modi's BJP has promised more revdis or freebies for these assembly elections than ever before, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Measures that quickly boost demand and increase employment are needed to push up growth. Moreover, without announcing new planss, the government should strengthen schemes such as PM KISAN, MNREGA and programmes to build rural roads.
The implementation of their recommendations means that an adequate apparatus to change this is at the disposal of the government.
Over 15 years, with seven per cent growth, the Indian economy will be three times bigger.
Any additional effort to assuage the growing worldwide hunger for infrastructure funding is more than welcome, says Barun Roy.
Since the inception of the code, the threat of insolvency has brought many debtors in line
Without bringing sound governance and technical capabilities into the RBI's work, injecting new money sets the stage for a next wave of bad behaviour by banks, warns Ajay Shah.
'The Budget numbers presented severely underestimate the magnitude of the unstated fiscal crisis that we went through in 2018-2019, which cannot be conceivably be fully reversed in 2019-2020,' points out Rathin Roy, director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
GST reform has been hanging fire since 2006-07.
The department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) can also seek in-principle approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for strategic divestment of PSUs on a case-to-case basis considering investor appetite and sectoral trends.
The Centre has to bear the maximum burden of borrowing NSSF loans to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore.
They all seem to forget that the Music Academy is as much an independent institution as T M Krishna is an individual musician. In drawing those red lines for the Academy management, they do not even seem to recognise that they too have crossed a red line themselves, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The Reserve Bank's independence has remained a work in progress, an enduring challenge that the nation has been grappling with on an ongoing basis,' says RBI Deputy Governor Dr Viral Acharya.
State Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil also said that the government will introduce four-year degree courses from June 2023 as mandated under the National Education Policy and the universities will have to implement the decision.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved the biggest tax reform since Independence.
'Concerns about India's future are hampering private investment.' 'If the private sector sees strategy, teams and execution on these issues, this will inspire confidence in India.' 'This should be our main strategy for 2017,' says Ajay Shah.
The Budget is remarkably coherent.
In its essence, GST is a national level system of value added taxation of goods and services, says Shankar Acharya.
Modi govt must bring about reforms to kick-start big-ticket infra projects.
Control over PSU banks is what is allowing the government to drive this scheme.
Make in India needs policy support for access to markets.
'This is a historical moment in the political history of Sri Lanka.' 'You can see the amount of pressure that is coming from the people because nobody addressed the policy blunders, multiple corruption charges and huge scandals.'
The panel may include or seek inputs from former RBI Governor Urjit Patel, former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian, Sajjid Chinoy of the PM-EAC, Rathin Roy, among others.
The National Democratic Alliance won 64 seats.
'An area of land has already been earmarked for their protected habitation.' 'There are also steps being taken to take care of the coral zone and mangroves.'
'Narasimha Rao asked me why China was doing so well in attracting foreign investments and I gave my frank opinion.' 'I told him that giving thrust to exports had to be a national effort.' 'But in India, the system was very centralised in the Government of India and the state governments had no role to play.'
The Opposition on Monday charged the government with trying to promote crony capitalism, creating fear by giving "unbridled power" to taxmen, trying to snoop into people's lives through increased use of Aadhaar through the provisions of the Finance Bill.
It would be a difficult task for the Indian economy to reach the $5-trillion mark a year before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projection of 2026-27. Pankaj Chaudhary, minister of state for finance, said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that the government is taking steps to make the country a $5-trillion economy at a date earlier than the IMF's projection. In that context, it would not be difficult to meet the projection in the third quarter of FY27.
'Rahul inspired Indian industry with an ethos, an ethos of being more confident, more independent, more thorough, more competitive, more generous, more public-spirited, and more national and more international all at once,' remembers Naushad Forbes.
'A buoyant market economy is one which is led by the innovation and imagination of private persons,' notes Ajay Shah.
Government looking at cushioning slowdown due to demonetisation with sops and higher outlay for micro, small and medium enterprises, agriculture, and affordable housing.
How do we get back to higher trend growth? The heart of the problem lies in private corporate investment, recommends Ajay Shah.
The Union government has no 'Buy India' policy, but has a 'Buy Air India' policy.
The government will find it difficult to pass the Bill without the Congress's help
'The hour is very late, and the choice between triumph and tragedy knocks at our door,' says Ajay Shah.
