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Feb 1, 2025 | 
thehindu.com | Santosh Mehrotra
This piece analyses the Union Budget 2025-26 for its employment generating impact from both a macro-economic as well as a micro-economic perspective. It does it by examining two sets of proposals: the first is the flagship personal income tax (PIT) slabs revision; and second, the ‘schemes’ announced in the classic government way for translating budget allocations to outcomes.
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Dec 31, 2024 | 
newindianexpress.com | Santosh Mehrotra
Without a vision document, there is no need felt for any programmes to implement the vision. Hence, there is no financing role for Niti Aayog either. Since it disburses no funds, state governments can ignore the advice that Niti Aayog might offer them. What has replaced planning? All ‘planning’ or budgeting, as it is understood in government, is now concentrated in the ministry of finance. In other words, like with Centre-state fiscal relations, centralisation is the turn of the game.
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Sep 27, 2024 | 
financialexpress.com | Santosh Mehrotra
By Santosh MehrotraThe periodic labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24 data was released recently. The clear picture emerging over the last decade has only been confirmed. India’s employment crisis, already deep, shows no signs of letting up. The uncalled-for national lockdown Covid began had resulted in India’s economy contracting by nearly twice as much as the world economy (5.8% versus 3.1%, compared to the previous year).
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Sep 27, 2024 | 
thewire.in | Santosh Mehrotra
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Sep 14, 2024 | 
thewire.in | Santosh Mehrotra
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Sep 12, 2024 | 
limesonline.com | Santosh Mehrotra
1. Nel 1600 l’India valeva il 24% del pil mondiale. Nel 1700 aveva raggiunto il 26%. Assieme alla Cina, questi due giganti asiatici – due delle civiltà più antiche al mondo – dominavano l’economia globale. Il XXI secolo, battezzato «il secolo dell’Asia», sembra recare nuovamente le tracce di questo primato. Oggi la somma delle economie cinese e indiana rappresenta poco più del 20% del pil mondiale, ma per gran parte degli ultimi vent’anni sono state quelle in più rapida crescita del pianeta.
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Aug 2, 2024 | 
deccanherald.com | Santosh Mehrotra
The first budget of the third Narendra Modi government has proposed taking a prioritised approach in the fields of employment and skilling. The Union Budget 2024-25 has proposed five schemes with an outlay of ₹2 lakh crore to generate jobs for the youth over the next five years. However, please note that most of the money to be spent on the schemes to promote formalization is under the EPFO, not actual new jobs.
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May 24, 2024 | 
deccanherald.com | Santosh Mehrotra
The second priority will be to rediscover issues with India’s public health system, going beyond the current government’s emphasis on Ayushman Bharat, or expanding an insurance-based model of health. Many past governments have neglected public health. However, despite a National Health Policy (NHP) 2017, public expenditure on health by the general government has remained at 1.1% to 1.3% per annum for the last decade. In the next five years, this must rise to 2.5% of GDP as the NHP commits.
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Apr 23, 2024 | 
thehindu.com | Rakesh Kumar |Santosh Mehrotra
In March, World Inequality Lab, a global research centre focused on inequality and public policies, published a working paper titled, ‘Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: The Rise of the Billionaire Raj’. The authors — Nitin Kumar Bharti, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, and Anmol Somanchi — combined data from national income accounts, wealth aggregates, tax tabulations, rich lists, and surveys on income, consumption, and wealth to present their results.
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Apr 6, 2024 | 
deccanherald.com | Santosh Mehrotra
Niti Aayog’s CEO believes poverty is now down to below 5% in India. But then why is the government giving free cereals for the last four years to two-thirds of India, and why will it continue to do so till 2029? Poverty and inequality are linked. The World Inequality Lab (WIL), a global research centre, published its recent working study, ‘Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: The Rise of the Billionaire Raj’. The study presents facts about inequality, which we recount here.
