economic policy & Labour

Declining Net Savings: Signs of Distress of Indian Households

IT is alarming that despite the fact that 81.3 crore Indians receive food assistance and many are benefitted by different transfer schemes of either kind or cash offered by the state and central governments, household debt primarily to finance consumption expenditure is on the rise. The stress on household consumption expenditure is rising because of a decade long near stagnation of real wages and low real incomes of the average self-employed in India.

Did GST Rationalisation Reduce Price?

It is about a year back that the second-generation GST reforms were introduced in September 2025, and the most important selling point was that a simplified and reduced indirect tax would reduce consumer prices. The media was mobilised to speak in defence of the government as usual, and this was projected as one of the game changers, particularly for industries supposed to be facing sluggish demand. The argument was simple.

Baseless Blame Game of India’s Corporates

PUBLIC discourse around stalled industrialisation in India, particularly the stagnant share of manufacturing in GDP for the past couple of decades, has hovered around almost a single point agenda -- labour market flexibility. Surprisingly, the studies undertaken by the associations of industrialists and corporates didn’t identify labour issues as the key stumbling block of industrial development.

Surplus Appropriation in Rentiers’ Paradise

IN capitalism the contribution of labour in production is valorised in respect to its contribution to creating surplus value. Labour producing goods and services which are useful but not produced for exchange are not considered as productive work in capitalism neither are they captured in the measurement of GDP. The contribution of labour is recognised only when it creates surplus value, other forms of work are not recognised as productive labour.

The Protest that Unsettled Power

THE outpouring of students and youth in the recent protest at Jantar Mantar that subsequently spread across many metro cities in India reflects the deep anxiety, frustration and anger of the youth against the government. The agitation began with a spontaneous social media campaign that attracted huge support in a short time. The original concern was about entrance exam paper leaks becoming a regular feature taking a huge toll on applicants who prepare for these exams.

Disenfranchising Citizens: Mode of Capital’s Control

DISENFRANCHISING citizens is a mode of control by which the state categorises and hierarchises individuals in the scale of distribution of rights and justice. It has two specific dimensions; one is control by the economy of security and fear and the other is not only excluding the surplus from the realm of production but also invisiblising them from the sphere of entitlements and rights. Defining and redefining citizens is one of the instruments of power by which the economy of security operates.

Money Power and Weakening of Electoral Democracy

Democracies do not just thrive by ensuring elections at regular intervals. It is about the institutional processes that ensure equal right to participate in an electoral contestation. It is equally important how choices are being influenced by power and money and the negotiation between voters and their representatives. If the model is to use cash for votes and then elected representatives also shamelessly betray a political party for cash — it is essentially a process that undermines the essence of democracy.

Rupee Fall and the Indian Economy

The rupee has further depreciated vis-à-vis the dollar reaching 95.87 against the US dollar on June 15. It appears like a free fall and the weakening of the rupee by itself is nothing, but an indicator of how India’s economic health is perceived by foreign investors. The balance of payments, that is India’s transactions with the world, are composed of two accounts namely the current account and the capital account.

Vicious Cycle of Low productivity and Low Wages

ECONOMIC growth in the long run depends on the growth of productivity. Productivity is measured with respect to inputs used, that is labour, capital and energy, and in terms of the efficient use of the combination of these inputs. The growth of the economy or the per capita income depends on the growth of labour productivity and the growth of employment. Labour productivity implies value added per worker and is sometimes measured in terms of value added per hour of labour worked.

Austerity Shifts Burden of War on the Poor

GEOPOLITICAL conflicts affect the lives of people who hardly have any role in initiating the conflict. The ruling class of conflicting nations engage in wars and the burden of the disruptions caused in the process is asymmetrically imposed upon common people. The national leaders of Israel and the US decided to attack Iran out of desperation as both could sense a decline of their control over the Middle East. According to official statements it was to salvage the Iranian people from the tyranny of Islamic rule. They didn’t succeed.

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