All stories by SHOBHA WARRIER
'Today, even the RBI is under political pressure'
Rediff.com3 Aug 2017'There is no difference between the earlier government and the present government.' 'They are all following the economic policy based on the Chicago School of thought.' 'This school of thought says the government should have very little role in governing the country and the majority of the work should be handed over to the private sector.' 'This has not succeeded in the US.' 'Yet, it is being tried here by people like Arvind Subramaniam, Arvind Panagariya, Urjit Patel and Raghuram Rajan.'
Swadeshi Jagran Manch: 'We want Paytm to close down'
Rediff.com31 Jul 2017'We are against Alibaba investing in Paytm.' 'We are against the concessions given to Paytm.' 'In fact, we want Paytm to close down because of its alliance with Alibaba.'
'To have a war or not is in Chinese hands'
Rediff.com27 Jul 2017'India is a huge market for Chinese goods. I don't think a war stands to logic when you have economic compulsions, but then Chinese are known to do illogical things.'
They are changing the way urban India lives
Rediff.com24 Jul 2017Prashant Lingam and Aruna Kappagantula are changing the way houses are being built in India.
The Dileep Saga: It's only the interval, folks!
Rediff.com20 Jul 2017Like many such cases, this case too would have remained under wraps had the survivor not exposed the villains and the crime they had commited.
'A start-up has to be super customer-obsessed'
Rediff.com17 Jul 2017'Even if you are aping the West, if you customise the idea for the Indian market, localise it based on the Indian ethos, it will succeed.'
The terrifying prospect of more job losses
Rediff.com11 Jul 2017'What we are going to see is a large number of white collar jobs getting lost.' 'Job loss can drive people to depression, drugs, alcoholism and even suicide as there is no one to turn to when they are down.' 'There is no in-between now -- things go from a luxurious lifestyle to no lifestyle.'
'GST is going to be tax jihadism'
Rediff.com30 Jun 2017'If my understanding is correct, one has to file not less than 37 returns per year for every ordinary business, and that too per state.' 'If you are doing businesses in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, you have to file 37x3 returns every year!' 'The consequence of GST will be chaos, confusion and possibly economic crisis.'
'There is talent. We have to nurture it'
Rediff.com28 Jun 2017Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi of IIT-Madras discusses the disparity between academic vision and industry needs with Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com.
'Modi and Shah are more chatur than Gandhi'
Rediff.com20 Jun 2017'This is the first time a majority ruling government is nominating a Dalit for President.' 'So, the moral credibility definitely will go with the BJP, particularly Narendra Modi.'
'The gig economy is going to be the future'
Rediff.com20 Jun 2017'You will see more and more people working independently -- starting beauty parlours, driving cars, etc.' This is what we call the gig economy.' 'The same people who have been laid off in India or are unable to get visas to work in the US may be part of this gig economy.' 'India needs billions of jobs, and it can only be created by self-employment or the gig economy.'
'Demonetisation de-fattened the economy'
Rediff.com16 Jun 2017'High denomination cash notes which was 1.4 lakh crores of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in 2004 became Rs 15.5 lakh crores in 2016.' 'If it had been allowed, by 2022, it would have been Rs 34 lakh crores, and that would have been the end of the Indian economy.' 'Demonetisation was a huge hit on the head of the economy, but without the hit, you could not U-turn the economy.'
'India is secular because it is Hindu'
Rediff.com16 Jun 2017'We have Hindu values, Hindu customs, Hindu philosophy, Hindu way of looking at all religions as acceptable.' 'These are all great assets of India.'
'The State should not enter the kitchen'
Rediff.com8 Jun 2017'I am a vegetarian and nobody can force me to eat meat.' 'It is my personal right to decide what I eat.' 'Similarly, telling a person who eats non-vegetarian food not to eat beef is a human rights violation.'
How Modi can create thousands of jobs
Rediff.com5 Jun 2017'What the government should do to create jobs is to help revive the MSME sector.' 'This sector gives employment to lakhs of people.' 'The MSME sector provides more employment than the big industries.' 'So, what should be done immediately is to revive the MSME sector.'
'IT employees are scared to join a trade union'
Rediff.com30 May 2017'They feel if they join a union, it will have a negative impact on their appraisals.'
Why the BJP wants AFSPA in a Kerala district
Rediff.com29 May 2017'The CPI-M workers first destroy houses of our people and then kill them.' 'There is anarchy in Kannur.'
'Modi government is on its way to greatness'
Rediff.com26 May 2017'Let us not say that Modi has not delivered on anything; he has delivered something and in parts substantially, but he has to also deliver on a large number of his electoral promises.'
'People seem to be mesmerised by Modi'
Rediff.com24 May 2017'The BJP has latched on to the idea of nationalism, but the nationalism they advocate is not nationalism as we have understood it since the time of the freedom movement.' 'This is not secular nationalism, it is Hindu nationalism.' 'It is a form of nationalism that is exclusionary and it tends to conflate national interest with the government.' 'So, if you disagree with the government, for example, on surgical strikes or demonetisation, you are anti-national or holder of black money.'
The engineer changing farmers' lives
Rediff.com19 May 2017'Agriculture has been given the wrong kind of attention.' 'More innovations are needed for the sector to be successful,' says Devi Murthy of Kamal Kisan.