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Past articles by Venky:
Why an ‘atmanirbhar’ world won’t work so well
Don’t you mean ‘atmanirbhar’ Bharat?Well, the sentiment in favour of shaping a self-reliant economy was articulated explicitly by India, of course, but other countries too have not been immune to a si → Read More
Huawei, techno-nationalism, and the geopolitics of 5G
Those are big words you’re tossing around.Yes, but they’re no bigger than the stakes involved in the competition to roll out 5G services.Why is 5G such a big deal? Because in terms of technology, it d → Read More
Why the study of humanities is getting a bad rap today
Are they really?You bet. Last week, the Australian government announced an overhaul of tertiary education. As part of this, it hiked the fee structures for humanities subjects drastically, and slashed → Read More
George Floyd, BLM, and the ‘butterfly effect’ on history
George Floyd, the black man who…Yes, the African-American man who died at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department last month. His death — some would say ‘killing’ — has triggered street protest → Read More
The ‘Boycott China’ mirage
Even if voluntary, the campaign is impractical and uneconomical → Read More
Who wants to be a ‘corona crorepati’?
Wait, did Nirmala Sitharaman announce that?You wish. That’s not what I’m talking about.What then?It’s an unconventional idea that some economists have put forward to minimise the risks of a second or → Read More
The babu-babble needs a ‘Plain English’ vaccine
What are you talking about?The meaningless mumbo-jumbo and circumlocution that our bureaucrats invoke in their routine communication, which requires clarification after clarification. In normal times, → Read More
When ‘work from home’ works, and when it doesn’t
I hear it’s now called ‘shirking from home’…You may well jest. The concept of ‘working from home’ (WFH, or telework) predates the Covid-19 pandemic; Indian IT companies have been experimenting with it → Read More
Fact vs fiction: Trump’s ‘threat’ to India over HCQ supply
What’s HCQ and why is Trump threatening India?First things first: HCQ is hydroxychloroquine, an off-patent anti-malarial drug that’s been pushed to the centre of a global frenzied hunt for a drug to t → Read More
The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic
I bet it’s bad.It is, given that the novel coronavirus is still virulently spreading around the world, and there is no clarity on how long it might be around and what extreme responses it might trigge → Read More
Why ‘weirdos’ and ‘misfits’ are in demand in 2020
Are they, really? You bet. In workplaces?Not just any workplace, but arguably one of the world’s most powerful offices — although its power is seen to be rapidly diminishing. Which office is this?The → Read More
Carlos Ghosn and the limits of criminal justice systems
Boy, did he take off!You bet. Carlos Ghosn’s ‘escape velocity’ as he fled from Japan, where he is under trial for alleged financial misconduct, was faster than anything achieved by any car from Nissan → Read More
A British ‘nanny’ is throwing money at ‘rich’ Indians
I too have received one of those famous mails.What mail would this be?The one that says I’ve won a big lottery or an inheritance...You’re talking of the infamous Nigerian 419 fraud, in which a scamste → Read More
Modi government’s slowdown strategy: For better or for worse?
The Centre’s responses to the sharpest GDP slowdown in seven years are puzzling economic observers → Read More
It’s time to rethink how Time works
Musing on heavy-duty philosophical matters?Not at all. Actually, I missed making a pre-arranged phone call to an associate in California because I sloppily miscalculated the time zones. So, I was grap → Read More
Big governments and small minds
The Hong Kong protests exemplify the ill-effects of wealth inequality and an iron-fisted approach, and hold lessons for India too → Read More
Bumps in India’s economic journey
An anecdote-filled perspective of the disruptions that have shaped India’s policymaking experience since Independence → Read More
With ‘Chinese pig’ gaffe, UBS reaps what it sows
I see you’re pigging out on porcine metaphors...Oink, oink! You could say I’m going the whole hog! But why are you ODing on ham?Because of what happened to a UBS economist last week. The entire episod → Read More
Why the Yeti, Bigfoot and Nessie myths live on
In calling them ‘myths’, you sound sceptical…I can understand why people believe what they believe, and, of course, some people claim to have actually had sightings of ‘cryptids’…Wait, what are ‘crypt → Read More
In space, no one can hear you laugh…
Don’t you mean: ‘no one can hear you scream’?That’s, of course, the tag line of Alien, the iconic science fiction horror film from 1979. But on the first human mission to Mars, scheduled for 2033, ast → Read More