Kartikeya's Blog

India and the United Kingdom, both countries have made exits or not join an economic partnership in their regions to protect their economic interests. Britain for example has left the European Union, and thus needs to form partnerships with key economies to bolster its relationships with states. India on the other hand abstained from joining RCEP, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnerships, for reasons purely economic. India had understandable apprehensions about the flooding of its markets with Chinese goods given the relaxed import rates provisioned in RCEP. It is however important to note that India and UK have been key trading partners. India also has a significant diaspora in the UK providing services in diverse sectors. Therefore, both countries now intend to take their relationship forward and improve it significantly over the next 10 years with this free trade agreement. The talks between the two countries have already started. It is expected that they shall arrive at a possi...

When Article 370 was abrogated in 2019, the citizens of the country were divided into 3 segments. The one, who was optimistic about the future of Jammu and Kashmir, the second who felt it stripped its special status, and the third who was oblivious to the implications. We are two and half years ahead of that date now and it is time to look back and wonder upon what all has happened since in Jammu and Kashmir to improve the overall well-being of its people.  After Article 370 was revoked the government wanted to present Jammu and Kashmir as potential places for investments. However, the security situation in the state along with a few infrastructural issues have so far stalled the process. In this context, the government has come up with the New Central Sector Scheme for Industrial Development of Jammu and Kashmir. The scheme has been allotted a total of 28,400 crores. The scheme's main intent is to present J&K as a lucrative place for investors from the country and abroad ...

 It has been a while since the current government showed the political courage to come forward and express vociferously the demand to push divestment. In the previous budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed the government's desire to have minimum to no presence in the nonstrategic sectors of the economy. It has since put forth the idea to reduce or completely withdraw the government's share in a number of private sector units.  There is no doubt that most PSUs have been ailing from poor administration. The managers have been unable to deliver effectively. Apart from this, political and excessive interference, rampant corruption, and wasteful expenditure have led to massive losses and drainage of taxes. In this context, the divestment policy of the government is a forward-looking step and could revitalize these PSUs. However, there have been a number of issues with the divestment process. If we look at the statistics the government so far has in this financial yea...