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Bibek Debroy

Bibek Debroy

Articles by Bibek Debroy

A significant step to dispel colonial legacy

Three new bills aim to replace British-era codes that govern India. But Parliament must take care to excise the bad provisions while not diluting the good

In effect, at a philosophical level, this is a reassessment of “crime”. Decriminalise the minor and ensure punishment is more severe for the major. (HT Archive)

Published on Aug 14, 2023 12:22 AM IST

A plan to make growth inclusive and empowering

In an uncertain world, India must continue its focus on domestic sources of growth and its reform agenda to ensure sectoral improvements and greater inclusivity

As we neared the end of 2022-23, there was near-consensus on real growth. The cited figure was between 6.8 and 7%. There is less consensus for 2023-24 and the medium-term. An optimist will say 6.5%, a pessimist 5.5%. An enthusiastic optimist will place it at 7%, a dire pessimist at 5%. While that’s a fairly broad band, there is no denying the Indian economy’s growth resilience. (Shutterstock)

Updated on Apr 16, 2023 11:49 AM IST

ByBibek Debroy

HTLS 2022: Crafting a model of governance to better serve future generations

Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2022: In many contexts, India has interpreted tomorrow as Amrit Kaal, the template and aspirational goal for India in 2047, 100 years after Independence.

India’s economic prospects are bright and reinforced by a young and dynamic population impatient for change. (HT/Arun Sharma)

Updated on Nov 07, 2022 12:24 PM IST

ByBibek Debroy

HTLS 2020: India’s new era will be defined by the idea of decentralization

We stand at the threshold of what could have been the roaring twenties of the 21st Century. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, it seems more like the groaning twenties and new era is akin to AC (after Covid-19), contrasted with BC (before Covid-19).

Handling of Covid-19 has also underlined differences in governance capacity across states, across cities and across districts.(Dheeraj Dhawan/HT Photo)

Updated on Dec 08, 2020 06:20 AM IST

ByBibek Debroy

What is behind Indians’ life expectancy going up?

An improvement in healthcare along with a decline in infant and child mortality have contributed to this progress

Why has life expectancy increased? It may have many obvious reasons: sanitation, sewage treatment, clean drinking water, immunisation, control of smallpox, tuberculosis, malaria, better medical treatment and so on(Arun Sharma/ Hindustan Times)

Updated on Apr 29, 2019 08:16 PM IST

ByBibek Debroy

Data on mishaps suggest railways’ track record has actually improved

In the past, when there were two sources to find the number of accident in railways, people often tried to match the two, failing to recognise there were definitional differences between them

For purposes of reporting and analysis, Indian Railways actually classifies accidents under several heads – from A to R(AFP)

Updated on Feb 22, 2019 11:05 AM IST

ByBibek Debroy

This is a forward-looking budget

Indirect taxes are headed towards stability, insulated from annual changes, though GST is still work in progress. Once the Task Force on Direct Taxes submits its recommendations and those are accepted, direct taxes should also become stable and certain.

Finance minister Piyush Goyal (centre) along with his full Budget team leaves for Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi, February 1, 2019.(Ajay Aggarwal/HT PHOTO)

Published on Feb 01, 2019 08:38 PM IST

ByBibek Debroy

It is important to make the Union government litigation efficient

We now have something akin to a census, not a sample survey. This is Ministry of Law and Justice’s Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS). This is for Union government and indeed, state governments should replicate the idea

Among High Courts, most cases are filed in Delhi , UP, Tamil Nadu (Madras High Court in photo), Punjab and West Bengal High Courts.(PTI)

Updated on Dec 11, 2018 02:35 PM IST

ByBibek Debroy

The Ujjwala mission is a work in progress

Even when subsidised, LPG costs are high. Firewood is cheaper and negative externalities associated with firewood not appreciated enough

The percentage Indians who use LPG/CNG increased from 17.5% in 2001 to 28.5% in 2011. In rural areas, its use doubled to 11.4% in the same period. But 62.5% of rural households still use firewood for cooking.(REUTERS)

Updated on Jun 15, 2018 12:30 PM IST

ByBibek Debroy

Union Budget 2018: ‘Ease of living’ and ‘ease of doing business’ have come together

A myopic and short-term view of the Union Budget looks at it from the point of view of ‘what’s in it for me?’ By that, one usually means taxation. The non-myopic, medium-term view is to consider what the Union government can do to trigger structural change.

Budget papers being brought to Parliament House on Thursday, February 1, 2018(Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

Updated on Feb 01, 2018 05:24 PM IST

ByBibek Debroy

Why India is in a sweet spot to be a revamped economy, writes Bibek Debroy

India will likely become an upper middle income country and cross the threshold of US $3,955 by around 2050.he timeline will be affected, but not the essential thrust.

A bank employee (L) explains to visitors about account transactions from a mobile phone during a Digi Dhan Mela, held to promote digital payment, in Hyderabad on January 18, 2017.(AFP file photo)

Updated on Nov 16, 2017 10:17 PM IST

ByBibek Debroy

Voluntary compliance is best to curb black money but a deterrent should also be there

Demonetisation was part of a broader anti-black package. Unlike in the past, the deterrent and threat of forced compliance are now credible.

Discontinued currency notes of 1,000 denomination after they were deposited at a bank in Bengaluru.(AP)

Updated on Nov 07, 2017 08:52 PM IST

ByBibek Debroy

Privatisation must cover the whole rail sector, not just the railways

We need a Railway Ministry that articulates a policy neutral between public and private players. Expressions like ‘liberalise, privatise and corporatise’ need to be thought through.

Coaches of the Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express after it derailed and ran into a house near Muzaffarnagar, August 20, 2017. What most people mean by private entry is the private sector running trains. On this, will we contemplate locomotive drivers from the private sector and safety (not to be confused with security) handled by the private sector?(Chahatram / Hindustan Times)

Updated on Sep 02, 2017 07:28 AM IST

ByBibek Debroy

Book excerpt: Kipling set up the Indian Railway Library to fund his return to England

In Indian Railways: The Weaving of a National Tapestry, Bibek Debroy, Sanjay Chadha and Vidya Krishnamurthi narrate the history of the Indian Railways, tracing its growth from the 1830s to Independence.

(Soumya Srivastava/HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 20, 2017 11:51 AM IST

New Delhi | ByBibek Debroy, Sanjay Chadha and Vidya Krishnamurthi

Presidency College has gone into a relative decline, at least in economics

But I think Presidency College has gone into a relative decline, at least in economics. Quality of teaching has dropped below the minimum threshold and it shows up in assorted rankings of colleges. It is possible to rightly blame state government policies for this.

2017 marks the bicentenary of Hindu College, Kolkata, which was renamed Presidency College in 1855. The College, affiliated to the University of Calcutta, was given the status of an independent university in 2010.(Samir Jana/HT Photo)

Updated on Jan 19, 2017 09:18 AM IST

ByBibek Debroy

Back to the drafting board

There is no dispute about one wood: India has high levels of corruption. Although differences blur, there is low-ticket corruption and high-ticket corruption. Low-ticket corruption is confronted when a citizen or enterprise interfaces with government. Bibek Debroy writes.

HT Image

Updated on Oct 22, 2011 02:33 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByBibek Debroy

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