For the moment, Parliament is not heeded to, though it has not been replaced by experts at the expense of democracy. The decline of Parliament is for everyone to see. But does anyone care?
Governments across the world resort to privatisation to fill budgetary gaps. But revenue from privatisation is a one-off benefit and generally, only profit-making units are sold at a good price.
In the long run, if the Taliban are back in Kabul, India’s infrastructure investments in Afghanistan will be at the risk of being seized. Besides, New Delhi will lose a friendly government in Kabul. Worse, Islamabad’s close partners may be in office once again.
It is very likely that India is now taking the side of the US against Iran, with the blessings of Israel and Saudi Arabia which is becoming an important partner and investor along with the UAE. In this context, Iran may turn to China more actively.
Why has Make in India failed to deliver? First, a large fraction of the Indian FDI is neither foreign nor direct but comes from Mauritius-based shell companies. Second, the productivity of Indian factories is low.
