Shaji Vikraman

Ratings agency Moody’s has lowered India’s outlook from stable to negative. How do such agencies assign these ratings? How seriously are these taken, and what changes for a government if it is downgraded?

In the early phase of the UPA government’s first term between 2004 and 2009, the Finance Ministry headed by P Chidambaram was pushing hard for consolidation of state-owned banks.

The plan is to merge 10 state-owned banks into four larger ones. What led to the move, how is it intended to help the banks and the government, and what are the potential downsides?

If policymakers on both sides can shut out the noise, it could be an opportune time to repair ties between the government and the RBI and to forge a respectful relationship.

Bank’s Central Board has decided on a record transfer of Rs 1.76 lakh crore. On what basis are such transfers made? Why has it been sometimes contentious, and how was the amount settled this time?

If the LIC shares are listed on stock exchanges, it could easily emerge as the country’s top listed company in terms of market valuation, overtaking current leaders Reliance Industries Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services.

Fifty years after bank nationalisation, banking is still seen as an enterprise driven by social purpose and political considerations — not depositors’ interests. This needs to change.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman has announced fresh measures for developing such a market, after previous budgets and a number of panels had failed to work out a plan. Why does India need such a market, and what are the new measures?

What the first Finance Minister said in the interim Budget of 1947-48 on market borrowings echoes even now. The government’s borrowing programme would be such as to enable it to obtain funds as cheaply as possible without in any way impacting the flow of investment into industry.

Union Budget 2019: The bond markets has reason to cheer given the huge borrowing programme of the government. The relief was reflected in the10 year bond yields which fell below 6.6 per cent and closed finally at 6.69 per cent.

How has the first-time finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, scored on her debut? Has the first Budget of PM Narendra Modi’s second term laid the foundation for achieving the goal of making India a $5-trillion economy by 2025? Will the Budget address the pressing concerns of the Indian economy? The Indian Express cuts through the clutter.

"In India, there is a certain amount of rural-urban divide which is due to the farm distress and the traditional problem of poverty which despite our progress has not been eliminated," says former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.

Congress has announced Rs 72,000 a year for poorest 20 per cent. What are the arguments for and against such schemes, and what will it take to implement it? A look at the economics, precedents and challenges ahead.

Before L&T & Mindtree, there was Swraj Paul & DCM, Escorts. How such bids have played out over the years.

The move in New Zealand follows changes to the law governing the central bank there.

In terms of overall fiscal stability, the states are doing better than the central government, says Reddy.

RBI has unveiled draft rules on compensation of top bank execs who take undue risks. A look at how some bank executives entered into questionable deals, and the private bankers got away. This is set to change.

Economics Nobel winner Paul Krugman warns that the US could possibly be heading for a recession. Amid slowdown in Europe, how strong are the grounds for such fears in the US, and what can it mean for India?

One of the signals for higher executives in the Indian financial sector is that this could be a trigger for greater scrutiny of their performance vis-à-vis their remuneration packages and measured against their governance practices and conduct.

All these pronouncements by successive finance ministers in their Budget speeches will be put to test in the years to come.

Last year, the Government blinked on this uncompromising stance, fiscal deficit deepened from the targeted 3.2% to 3.5% of GDP. And the interim Budget put the fiscal deficit target for 2018-19 at 3.4% of GDP, marginally higher than the budgeted 3.3%.

Budget 2019: What government sought to achieve with farmer support scheme, how far middle class will benefit from tax rebate, and other takeaways.

Budget 2019: At the end of its term, a government usually presents a vote on account rather than a full Budget. What is the difference? A look at what interim Budgets have covered over the years, or left for the next government.

In July last year, addressing the SBI Economic Conclave, Arun Jaitley had raised similar red flags relating to investigation and crime.