Surjit S Bhalla

The writer is Contributing Editor at The Indian Express, and Consulting Editor at Network 18

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A tribute to economist Shankar Acharya, A World in Flux, explores what needs to be done to achieve India’s goal of becoming Viksit by 2047Subscriber Only

August 02, 2025 20:55 IST

Edited by Amita Batra and AK Bhattacharya, it features a collection of essays written by eminent scholars like Shyam Saran, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Sajjid Z Chinoy

Thu, Aug 14, 2025

Meghnad Desai, an economist of many partsSubscriber Only

July 31, 2025 06:31 IST

Meghnad was kind, a gentle and modest soul, with a lot to be immodest about. In many ways, he had no equal.

Thu, Jul 31, 2025

'India is not merely the world’s fourth-largest economy; it is also the world’s fourth most equal society”. Unfortunately, this is false on both counts'

Surjit Bhalla writes: World Bank’s warped inequality numbersSubscriber Only

July 15, 2025 07:20 IST

The World Bank states that India has the lowest consumption inequality in the world and in the same breath that India has the highest income inequality. Such a paradoxical result has heretofore not been documented by any organisation in the world

Tue, Jul 15, 2025

Remembering Stanley Fischer: An economist for allSubscriber Only

June 03, 2025 06:38 IST

Fischer influenced generations of students and policymakers

Tue, Jun 03, 2025

India’s second 1991 momentSubscriber Only

April 12, 2025 07:02 IST

A Trump-sent opportunity for India to undertake economic reforms it should have carried out more than a decade ago

Sat, Apr 12, 2025

Budget, annual Budget, budget allocation, Budget estimates, Union Budget, Union Budget 2025, editorial, Indian express, opinion news, current affairs

Ahead of budget, why India’s middle class needs another 1991 momentSubscriber Only

February 01, 2025 06:43 IST

For their sake, the government should cut taxes, not tinker with them. It should lower import tariffs, facilitate FDI

Sat, Feb 01, 2025

Regarding personal income taxation, the Indian government’s own data and projections suggest that X-PIT will reach 3.9 per cent of GDP in FY2025.

Behind India’s economic slowdown, our very own Deep StateSubscriber Only

January 24, 2025 06:15 IST

The babu raj and their friendly commentariat also have a role to play in it

Fri, Jan 24, 2025

Thomas Piketty has argued that ultra rich in India must be taxed more to address rising inequality and raise more resources for government. Is his diagnosis accurate? (Illustration by C R Sasikumar)

Dis/Agree: Piketty is wrong, India is not that unequalSubscriber Only

December 27, 2024 07:22 IST

An exaggerated Gini, inaccurate claims of income inequality, outdated information and sources – Pickety should establish his facts first and then proceed towards hypothesising Indian wealth tax, tax collection, savings and GDP growth

Fri, Dec 27, 2024

When dreams of Viksit Bharat stumble over Nehruvian impulsesSubscriber Only

December 06, 2024 04:20 IST

The sooner we overcome this, the sooner we can avoid making policy errors that dampen our growth prospects.

Sun, Dec 08, 2024

Exit poll message: Third Modi mandate calls for big and bold reformsSubscriber Only

June 02, 2024 15:59 IST

Realising India's dream of development means important changes in regulation — restriction of arbitrary powers of regulators, the need to remove regulatory ambiguity and the need to bring in a culture of willful restraint by the state and judiciary.

Tue, Jun 04, 2024

World Inequality Lab report on India fails to capture the country’s economic realitySubscriber Only

March 27, 2024 07:05 IST

These claims on inequality trends in India are based on a set of questionable assumptions. They warrant closer scrutiny

Thu, Mar 28, 2024

India gdp growth, indian express opinion

A narrative in search of dataSubscriber Only

June 19, 2023 07:11 IST

Statistical gymnastics won’t change the fact that India has seen its most inclusive growth since 2014

Mon, Jun 19, 2023

real wages growth rural india data analysis

Surjit Bhalla writes: Contrary to claims, rural wages have risen rapidlySubscriber Only

April 25, 2023 06:55 IST

For 2014-2018, only for nine out of 38 categories was real wage growth less than the 2.2 per cent annual increase registered by a ploughman

Tue, Apr 25, 2023

Both government and non-government data show a healthy employment gain since pre-Covid 2019Subscriber Only

January 24, 2023 07:10 IST

Non-availability of official data has allowed unofficial estimates about employment growth in India to flourish.

Tue, Jan 24, 2023

Data supports the claim that poverty decline in India has been faster since BJP came to office in 2014Subscriber Only

November 29, 2022 07:22 IST

The authoritative DHS household data for 2005-06, 2015-16, and 2019-21 establishes that the pace of decline in Indian poverty accelerated post 2014 elections. We must address our progress while continuing to shift goalposts.

Tue, Nov 29, 2022

There is no debate: There has been a persistent decline in poverty in IndiaSubscriber Only

November 04, 2022 04:00 IST

India’s poverty decline was already remarkable before 2014. Now, it is second to none.

Sat, Nov 05, 2022

Two of India’s most seasoned policymakers draw upon their expertise to present an authoritative account of India’s economic and policy historySubscriber Only

August 27, 2022 18:00 IST

As India celebrates the 75th anniversary of its Independence, bureaucrats NK Singh and PK Mishra present a valuable analysis of India's economic course since 1947

Sun, Aug 28, 2022

India’s tax-GDP ratio may be too highSubscriber Only

August 08, 2022 03:45 IST

Surjit S Bhalla writes: Indeed, it is much higher than expected. It is time for the debate to shift to quality of expenditures

Mon, Aug 08, 2022

Understanding why voters elected BJP to power in four statesSubscriber Only

March 12, 2022 03:25 IST

Surjit S Bhalla writes: Several factors – including effective delivery of food rations to bottom 50 per cent during pandemic – influenced their decision.

Sat, Mar 12, 2022

What the NFHS data reveals about inequality in IndiaSubscriber Only

December 04, 2021 03:01 IST

🔴 Surjit S Bhalla, Karan Bhasin write: It suggests an inclusive pattern of development with poorer states doing better on development indicators

Sun, Dec 05, 2021

The repeal of the retrospective tax shows Modi government means business on reformsSubscriber Only

August 11, 2021 03:00 IST

Surjit S Bhalla writes: The end to the retro tax is also a pointer to more capital reforms to come.

Thu, Aug 12, 2021

There is limited evidence to suggest that electoral rallies resulted in spread of the pandemicSubscriber Only

April 22, 2021 04:18 IST

Till then, armchair experts should introspect and appreciate India’s ability to conduct elections, with high voter participation, and do so in a pandemic.

Thu, Apr 22, 2021

How did inflation targeting really impact India?Subscriber Only

March 20, 2021 03:02 IST

Surjit S Bhalla writes: Inflation targeting in India was not responsible for the decline in inflation. It contributed to a decline in GDP growth because of excessively high real policy rates.

Sat, Mar 20, 2021