What is missing in the government are people with enough weight in the system who can give quality economic advice, and offer subject expertise, says T N Ninan.
The disconnect with the AAP is that its economic agenda sounds suspiciously like Indira Gandhi's of the early 1970s: more subsidies, higher taxes, regulation of private school fees, free water, et al.
It is odd how governments don't learn from their predecessors' mistakes, says T N Ninan.
'Perhaps GST was too complex a system for the Indian economy at its present stage of development,' argues T N Ninan.
The original big boys (Tata, Birla, Ambani) were not the stars of the decade.
Focusing on low GDP growth in recent years, therefore, masks the deeper crisis facing manufacturing and mining.
Forget the big-ticket stuff, for years we have not even been able to dredge Mumbai harbour so that submarines can move in and out round the clock, rues T N Ninan
If P Chidambaram's Budget speech was an hour-long attempt at presenting his government's and his own record in a good light - as he is perfectly entitled to do - such a "marketing" effort invites the recounting of an alternative retelling of the record.
The relatively poor performance of government-owned banks comes at a cost to taxpayers.
The poor quality of the initial statistics must take some of the blame for the flak that the government has been getting; growth rates have been recorded as plunging more than they may in fact have.
That such a deal can be greeted with celebration in the camps of both buyer and seller speaks volumes about the airline and its recent history, explains T N Ninan.
Business has paid a pittance for farmers' land, indulged in widespread illegal mining, and cheated on 'green' commitments.
In March 2012, the rupee was about 51 to the US dollar - not much cheaper than it was a decade earlier.
All those who have been dismayed by the food security ordinance should thank Manmohan Singh and his colleagues for a neat optical trick, says T N Ninan.
Modi's critics will say that he has put up cement and steel structures, but weakened the institutions of governance whereas Nehru strengthened them, observes T N Ninan.
Three-quarters into the 10 years that Mr Modi had sought for transforming India, the 'output' numbers look impressive, but the key 'outcome' numbers don't show up much, if at all, observes T N Ninan.
The market is holding up pretty well in the face of a lot of bad news.
These six people have created a political climate more difficult for business, indeed more hostile to business, than at any time since the mid-1980s.
It's hard to say because of the winner-take-all nature of new platform and network businesses, but Reliance has not been an efficient user of capital, and Adani numbers are varied, observes T N Ninan.
There are two ways: Deliver a rapidly growing economic pie or reform GST and close corporate tax loopholes, suggests T N Ninan.
The one fact of life that will be unchanged into the foreseeable future is that India will remain hugely import-dependent for energy, while rival countries are booking sources of supply, or blocking other sources through trade embargoes.
In a country that is often focused on the ways in which it falls short, the start of a year is a good time to remind oneself of such positives, observes T N Ninan.
Most people don't know that India is an agricultural power in world markets, says T N Ninan.
The country has learnt that corruption in defence deals is a fact of life, and has to be dealt with maturely, says T N Ninan
You will need a sharper eye for stock picking and a greater appetite for risk than most retail investors possess, recommends T N Ninan.
There will be even less Teflon left if the court asks the joint secretary concerned in the Prime Minister's Office to testify who instructed him to vet the CBI's report to the court, says T N Ninan
Bill Clinton's address had lessons for both Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi, says T N Ninan
'Food security' will, unfortunately, become a giant boondoggle.
'The finance minister in her Budget speech should spell out how exactly she intends to get back to the 7% track, and the hard decisions she intends to take in order to adjust to the realities of a slowing economy until growth momentum returns,' suggests T N Ninan.
Perhaps the calculation is that economic recovery will have been achieved before the next general election comes around, but such assumptions can come unstuck if current directions are not reversed quickly, cautions T N Ninan.
Politicians need to wake up. Many of them have functioned as though they were above the law -- and indeed they were. But things have changed -- substantially, not wholly, notes T N Ninan.
Should we not stop uncritically celebrating NRIs' elevation without regard to what kind of companies they are getting to run, and the nature of their products or business practices, asks T N Ninan.
The money stashed away in tax havens is estimated at between $5.6 trillion and $32 trillion, numbers to make your eyes pop, asserts T N Ninan.
The coal scandal began with revelations about the Manmohan Singh government, then expanded in scope to take in the Vajpayee government, and has now become a sweeping saga that lays bare the contemporary Indian state.
While much attention has been devoted to interest rates and industrial revival, the bigger problem for the economy could be its external vulnerability.
The country's mood at the end of 2012 is markedly different from that at the end of 2011. Bread and butter issues, not corruption, have become the focus of attention, says T N Ninan
Country's mood at the end of 2012 is markedly different from that at the end of 2011.
If India is to urbanise successfully, it has to focus on Tier 2 cities with a population of one-five million, observes T N Ninan.
There are instances -- both from national and state elections -- of economic under-performers being returned to power, and also of parties being thrown out despite good performance, observes T N Ninan.
'When growth drops precipitously from 7% to 4.5% in four quarters, it is for all practical purposes a recession' notes T N Ninan.
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