Extraordinary times require extraordinary policy responses. Against the backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented a “significant” fiscal deficit number – which went upto 9.5% in FY21 – from a position of strength. Simultaneously, commencing a fiscal consolidation path …

(Co-authored with Amandeep Kaur and Divy Rangan)

 

Climate change commitments require long term fiscal policy instruments, such as climate responsive budgeting and ecological fiscal transfers . In India we have Climate Action Plans at national and subnational government levels. However, a roadmap towards comprehensive climate responsive …

Violence against women (VAW) is now acknowledged as a global problem with substantial macroeconomic costs. This is a “shadow pandemic”. Prior to the global contagion of Covid-19, the global cost of VAW had been estimated at approximately $1.5 trillion.

 

Growing VAW is one of the greatest …

The macroeconomic uncertainty in times of COVID-19 pandemic is hard to measure. Economists and policymakers use the variable “output gap” to capture the “slack”. It is a deviation between potential output and actual output, which is a standard representation of a “cycle”. …

The Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the demand for consumer goods has increased considerably during the festival months. October-to-March is the festival season in India. Based on the “Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI)”, the Finance Minister said that the “economic activity had picked up in …