News / Author / Roshan Kishore

Roshan Kishore

Roshan Kishore is the Data and Political Economy Editor at Hindustan Times. His weekly column for HT Premium Terms of Trade appears every Friday.

Articles by Roshan Kishore

Mobile phones, not cards, lead India’s digital payments push

Mobile phones have become a bigger source of non-cash payment methods in retail transactions than customers swiping their cards at Point of Sale (POS) machines.

The Indian digital payment revolution seems to be taking a different route.(AFP File Photo)

india news

Updated on Oct 26, 2018 11:46 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Note ban helped formalise economy but hit small businesses

Demonetisation generated tailwinds for formalisation of the economy. Income declared in income tax returns, as a share of India’s total Gross Value Added, increased significantly in 2016-17. But it also generated headwinds for small business incomes.

Growth in the number of tax returns and income shown in ITRs in the up to <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>5 lakh annual non-salary income category suffered a big deceleration.(Picture for representation)

india news

Updated on Oct 24, 2018 08:09 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Why real income isn’t farmers’ main concern

The bulk of India’s economic output is generated and owned by the non-farmers. This explains why inflation-targeting is one of the guiding principles of our economic policy now.

A farmer Surjit Singh checking his paddy crop flattened by after heavy rain fall.(HT File Photo)

india news

Updated on Oct 20, 2018 11:17 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

How the inflation equation could impact politics

Rising inflation under the United Progressive Alliance II came with high food prices; this is not the case now.

A customer shops for pulses in a store at a local market in Hyderabad.(Bloomberg)

business

Updated on Oct 17, 2018 10:28 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

What Congress-BSP tie-up could have achieved in Madhya Pradesh

The BSP has the potential to play spoiler in a large number of seats in MP. In fact, the party has hurt both the Congress and the BJP in the last three elections.

If the BSP’s vote share is greater than the victory margin on a given seat, then the party which came second will see the BSP as a spoiler.(Mujeeb Faruqui/HT Photo)

elections

Updated on Nov 01, 2018 08:51 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByRoshan Kishore

What a Congress-BSP tie-up could have achieved in Madhya Pradesh

Many had argued that an alliance between the Congress and the BSP could have been a game-changer in the forthcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections.

BSP leader Sonia Gandhi shakes hands with Congress president Rahul Gandhi during Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy’s swearing in ceremony, May 23, 2018.(PTI File Photo)

elections

Updated on Nov 01, 2018 08:50 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

RBI survey shows a tight monetary-fiscal policy might boost anti-incumbency

In a highly unequal and largely informal economy such as India’s, economic policy-making is mostly about balancing voter and market sentiment.

A tight monetary (higher interest rates) and fiscal (not cutting petroleum taxes) policy will probably help the rupee and keep the fiscal deficit under control.(REUTERS)

india news

Updated on Oct 13, 2018 07:30 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Countdown begins: Stage set for semi-finals before 2019 Lok Sabha elections

The BJP faces a Congress challenge in 3 states it rules. A total of five states which are going to polls between November 12 and December 7.

Congress and BJP supporters wave flags in a show of strength in Indore.(HT File Photo)

india news

Updated on Oct 07, 2018 08:55 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Excise duty cut on petrol-diesel: Relief likely temporary as international crude prices expected to rise

The relief however is likely to be temporary, as crude prices are expected to rise in the future and probably cross the psychological barrier of $100 per barrel, last seen in 2014. A falling rupee will mean that prices increase even more in rupee terms.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced a cut of <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>2.50 in the price of petrol(REUTERS File)

business

Updated on Oct 05, 2018 08:36 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Is current valuation of stock market justifiable?

There is no denying the fact that speculation is an important element of stock market movements. However, what differentiates stock market speculation from an activity such as gambling is the fact that the former is pegged to economic performance of companies whose stocks are being traded.

A man looks at a screen across a road displaying the Sensex on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, June 29, 2015.(Reuters File Photo)

business

Updated on Oct 05, 2018 08:16 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

RBI faces tough call on interest rate, policy panel decision likely on Friday

Oil prices are close to $85/barrel on Wednesday and the value of rupee touched 73 to the dollar for the first time. This spooked investors leading to a fall of 550 points in the Sensex.

What happens in the future is important because the RBI’s decision on whether or not to hike rates is driven more by expectations of future inflation rather than present levels(Mint File Photo)

business

Updated on Oct 04, 2018 02:40 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Farm crisis calls for more than waivers

A systemic crisis in farming probably goes back to the post-reform period and a solution to the problem might lie beyond the issues being discussed

Ability of a farm loan waiver to provide relief to farmers might be coming down, stats suggest.(PTI)

india news

Published on Oct 03, 2018 09:01 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Why the Sabarimala verdict allowing women’s entry is not against mass opinion

The Supreme Court has set aside the custom of preventing women in menstruating age from entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.

Devotees wait at Lord Ayyappa temple, in Sabarimala. The Supreme Court said women have the constitutional right to enter Sabarimala temple in Kerala.(PTI File Photo)

india news

Updated on Sep 29, 2018 11:22 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Review: The Republic of Beliefs by Kaushik Basu

Kaushik Basu questions the moorings of Law and Economics to show that political groups with retrograde ideas cannot further the cause of justice

A protest in New Delhi in January 2014: Kaushik Basu suggests that change can come only if the beliefs of citizens and the state converge. In the context of violence against women, patriarchal restrictions on women’s mobility are likely to derail justice in cases of sexual assault.(Sonu Mehta/HT)

books

Updated on Sep 28, 2018 07:50 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByRoshan Kishore

Private security industry is a bigger employer than healthcare in India: Study

Two of every three Indian workers earned up to ₹10,000 per month in 2015

Doctors at a hospital in New Delhi. The private security industry in India employed 7 million workers in 2015, making it larger than healthcare and almost as large as public administration.(Raj K Raj/HT File Photo)

india news

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 08:06 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

A deep dive into India’s job market

The State of Working India 2018 highlights important aspects of India’s labour market.

Workers at a small factory who make shoddy blanket in Panipat on April 19.(Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

india news

Updated on Sep 26, 2018 08:20 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

2019 Lok Sabha election: Why BSP chief Mayawati is a sought after ally

It is Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) today which has once again created uncertainty around hopes of a grand collation against the BJP. However, it is the only party apart from the BJP and the Congress with a truly national footprint and wants adequate reward for it.

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi with Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati (left) and Congress president Rahul Gandhi during the swearing-in ceremony of JD(S)-Congress coalition government in Bengaluru, in May 2018.(PTI)

india news

Updated on Sep 22, 2018 10:48 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Why Swachh Bharat Mission needs to go beyond 2019

Swachh Bharat is a well-intentioned programme whose benefits are clear. India will only be better off if it were to seek a continuous pursuit of cleanliness

Residents of east Delhi along with BJP workers clean the Yamuna river as a part of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.(HT Photo)

india news

Updated on Sep 20, 2018 07:57 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByRoshan Kishore

Not much relief for govt in CPI data

Falling food inflation and stagnant core inflation could pose dual challenge for government in an election year

Much of the decline in CPI is due to the fall in food inflation.(Reuters File Photo)

business

Updated on Sep 15, 2018 03:48 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Don’t blame farmers for being unreasonable

The problem in these sectors is rooted in a prolonged mismatch in demand and supply. If sugar mills and dairies start going bankrupt because they cannot sell sugar and milk powder, even successful institutions and mechanisms such as cooperatives for dairies and fair and remunerative prices for sugarcane are bound to lose their relevance

Sugar mills, which are supposed to pay farmers, blame the non-payment on unsold sugar stocks and fall in sugar prices(HT Photo)

analysis

Published on Sep 14, 2018 01:24 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByRoshan Kishore

2008 financial crisis and unraveling of the BRICS

Export demand from the pre-crisis boom was a big driver of economic growth for the Brics countries. However, slow growth in world trade and threat of trade wars have curbed these tailwinds in the post-crisis world.

The GDP growth rate of BRICS nations was significantly higher, and widening its lead, than the world-average and the US GDP growth numbers in the years before the first BRICS ministerial meeting in 2006(AFP File Photo)

business

Updated on Sep 14, 2018 01:09 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

8.2% GDP growth, but how is the economy really doing?

While the larger picture is not one of immediate crisis, there are factors that should be cause for concern.

India’s GDP grew 8.2%, the highest in two years, during April-June 2018 (Q1 2018-19). The headline growth numbers, however, do not capture the macroeconomic dynamics currently at play in the Indian economy.(Illustration: Abhimanyu Sinha)

india news

Updated on Sep 12, 2018 08:18 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Both BJP, Congress claim victory over former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan’s note

In a note to Chairman of Estimates Committee, Raghuram Rajan said a variety of governance problems such as the suspect allocation of coal mines coupled with the fear of investigation slowed down government decision making in Delhi, both in the UPA and NDA governments.

Former RBI governor Raghuram G Rajan in a note to Parliamentary panel said that the size of frauds in the public sector banking system has been increasing, though still small relative to the overall volume of NPAs.(PTI File Photo)

india news

Updated on Sep 11, 2018 11:20 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Why a possible TRS-BJP alliance will have an edge in Telangana

The move was preceded by political posturing by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

With Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, dissolving the assembly the state is headed towards early elections.(PTI Photo)

india news

Updated on Sep 08, 2018 09:48 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Will Supreme Court ruling on Section 377 change India’s social attitude?

A study spanning 19 states in 2016 found strong views against homosexuality, but revealed some interesting trends: 61% of the respondents thought love between two men or two women was wrong. Only a fourth of the respondents approved of a relationship between two men or two women.

The youngest respondents (15 to 17 years of age) were more approving of same-sex relationships than people in an older demographic; 31% of people between 15 and 17 said they were alright with two men in love, while only 21% of people between 30 and 34 years of age said they approved of the same.(Shankar Narayan/HT Photo)

india news

Updated on Sep 07, 2018 09:39 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByDhrubo Jyoti and Roshan Kishore

Analysis | Did the note ban affect economy?

Economic growth in any given period is an outcome of various factors, especially in an economy as large and diverse as India

A man gets his old 500 rupees notes exchanged with 100 rupees at Canara Bank Ghatkopar (W) in Mumbai, India.(HT File Photo)

india news

Updated on Sep 05, 2018 10:32 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore, New Delhi

Fuel prices hit record highs as Rupee slides, Opposition attacks government

Officials said the spike in rates was on account of the exchange rate falling to a record ₹71 against the US dollar, depreciating by ₹2.5 in a month.

An attendant sits between two fuel pumps at a gas station in Mumbai.(Bloomberg)

business

Updated on Sep 03, 2018 11:24 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

India’s job challenge: Options aplenty but well-paying ones elude workforce

The biggest reason for this is the employment-income mismatch in agriculture. While the share of agriculture in India’s GDP has been coming down, its share of employment has been relatively constant.

The biggest reason for this is the employment-income mismatch in agriculture.(HT File Photo)

india news

Updated on Sep 05, 2018 12:52 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

At 8.2%, GDP grows at its quickest pace in 2 years

Govt hails structural reforms after manufacturing boost.

Sector-wise growth figures for GVA show that manufacturing and construction have registered the biggest improvements.(Reuters File Photo)

india news

Updated on Aug 31, 2018 11:34 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

Has demonetisation worsened India’s ‘change’ problem?

The statistics worth looking at in this year’s report are those which give details about the denomination-wise break-up of the currency in circulation.

Pieces of old fake 1000 rupee notes lay on the street during a protest, organised by Congress party, to mark a year since demonetisation was implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Ahmedabad, India.(REUTERS File Photo)

india news

Updated on Aug 31, 2018 02:47 PM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRoshan Kishore

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Roshan Kishore

Roshan Kishore is the Data and Political Economy Editor at Hindustan Times. His weekly column for HT Premium Terms of Trade appears every Friday.

Mobile phones have become a bigger source of non-cash payment methods in retail transactions than customers swiping their cards at Point of Sale (POS) machines.

Demonetisation generated tailwinds for formalisation of the economy. Income declared in income tax returns, as a share of India’s total Gross Value Added, increased significantly in 2016-17. But it also generated headwinds for small business incomes.

The bulk of India’s economic output is generated and owned by the non-farmers. This explains why inflation-targeting is one of the guiding principles of our economic policy now.

Rising inflation under the United Progressive Alliance II came with high food prices; this is not the case now.

The BSP has the potential to play spoiler in a large number of seats in MP. In fact, the party has hurt both the Congress and the BJP in the last three elections.

Many had argued that an alliance between the Congress and the BSP could have been a game-changer in the forthcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections.

In a highly unequal and largely informal economy such as India’s, economic policy-making is mostly about balancing voter and market sentiment.

The BJP faces a Congress challenge in 3 states it rules. A total of five states which are going to polls between November 12 and December 7.

The relief however is likely to be temporary, as crude prices are expected to rise in the future and probably cross the psychological barrier of $100 per barrel, last seen in 2014. A falling rupee will mean that prices increase even more in rupee terms.

There is no denying the fact that speculation is an important element of stock market movements. However, what differentiates stock market speculation from an activity such as gambling is the fact that the former is pegged to economic performance of companies whose stocks are being traded.

Oil prices are close to $85/barrel on Wednesday and the value of rupee touched 73 to the dollar for the first time. This spooked investors leading to a fall of 550 points in the Sensex.

A systemic crisis in farming probably goes back to the post-reform period and a solution to the problem might lie beyond the issues being discussed

The Supreme Court has set aside the custom of preventing women in menstruating age from entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.

Kaushik Basu questions the moorings of Law and Economics to show that political groups with retrograde ideas cannot further the cause of justice

Two of every three Indian workers earned up to ₹10,000 per month in 2015

The State of Working India 2018 highlights important aspects of India’s labour market.

It is Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) today which has once again created uncertainty around hopes of a grand collation against the BJP. However, it is the only party apart from the BJP and the Congress with a truly national footprint and wants adequate reward for it.

Swachh Bharat is a well-intentioned programme whose benefits are clear. India will only be better off if it were to seek a continuous pursuit of cleanliness

Falling food inflation and stagnant core inflation could pose dual challenge for government in an election year

Export demand from the pre-crisis boom was a big driver of economic growth for the Brics countries. However, slow growth in world trade and threat of trade wars have curbed these tailwinds in the post-crisis world.

While the larger picture is not one of immediate crisis, there are factors that should be cause for concern.

In a note to Chairman of Estimates Committee, Raghuram Rajan said a variety of governance problems such as the suspect allocation of coal mines coupled with the fear of investigation slowed down government decision making in Delhi, both in the UPA and NDA governments.

The move was preceded by political posturing by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

A study spanning 19 states in 2016 found strong views against homosexuality, but revealed some interesting trends: 61% of the respondents thought love between two men or two women was wrong. Only a fourth of the respondents approved of a relationship between two men or two women.

Economic growth in any given period is an outcome of various factors, especially in an economy as large and diverse as India

Officials said the spike in rates was on account of the exchange rate falling to a record ₹71 against the US dollar, depreciating by ₹2.5 in a month.

The biggest reason for this is the employment-income mismatch in agriculture. While the share of agriculture in India’s GDP has been coming down, its share of employment has been relatively constant.

Govt hails structural reforms after manufacturing boost.

The statistics worth looking at in this year’s report are those which give details about the denomination-wise break-up of the currency in circulation.

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