How India's Economy Works

In this episode, Puja Mehra talks to economist Payal Malik about the impact of big tech companies like Google and Meta on market competition in India and the recent antitrust ruling against google. They explore how these giants dominate industries through data extraction, stifling innovation and harming suppliers, the need for new regulations to address anti-competitive behavior, the role of digital gatekeepers in shaping the future of the digital economy and much more.ABOUT PAYAL MALIKPayal Malik is a public policy economist, with expertise in competition law and policy, digital markets, antitrust litigation, technology policy, and economic regulation of network industries. She has been an Economic Adviser and Head of the Economics Division at the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for ten years between 2012-2023, where she played a key role in advising the Commission on the economics of competition law across an expansive range of markets and led interfaces between the CCI, sector regulators, government, industry and the international competition community.She was the Convener of the Working Group on New Age Economy and Bigdata constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India (GoI), for the competition law review committee (CLRC). She was also nominated as a member of the task force of the GoI formulating the e-commerce policy of India and member of a sub group of the Committee on Digital Competition law (CDCL), devising an ex-ante regulatory mechanism for digital markets through a separate legislation.For more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube

In this conversation, Puja Mehra talks to Dr. Shruti Rajagopalan about the historical context of the 1991 Economic Liberalisation of India. She illustrates how the economy in india worked through the manufacture of a bicycle and goes on to explain the impact of those economic reforms, the careful planning that went into it, the people who brought it to fruition, the political turmoil at the time and much more.About Dr. Shruti Rajagopalan: Dr. Shruti Rajagopalan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where she leads the Indian Political Economy Program and Emergent Ventures India. She is also a Fellow at the Classical Liberal Institute at NYU School of Law and an Innovation Fellow with Schmidt Futures. Dr. Rajagopalan’s research interests include law and economics, public choice theory, and constitutional economics, with her work published in various academic journals and media outlets such as The New York Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Project Syndicate, Bloomberg, Real Clear Politics, Mint, The Hindu: Business Line, and The Indian Express. She hosts the Ideas of India podcast and writes the Get Down and Shruti substack on Indian political economy and culture.SHOW NOTES(01:04) Interview starts(03:57) The humble bicycle(06:49) The license stack for starting a bike shop(13:32) License convolution(19:37) Wartime controls led to central planning(22:44) How would License Raj unravel(25:17) How the 1991 political crisis came to be(27:57) Finance ministers of the time(30:14) The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and it consequences(34:15) The team that liberalised India(36:09) The Devaluation of the Rupee(39:22) Fixing Imports and Exports(41:53) The Careful Planning of the Economic Reforms(47:50) The Advantage of Small Firms(50:46) FDIs and foreign expertise(54:10) The far reaching impacts of the Economic Reforms(58:02) The Case Study of India as a blueprint for Economic ReformsFor more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube

In this conversation, Puja Mehra talks to Vijay Singh Chauhan about the complexities of government budgeting and fiscal management in India. They discuss discrepancies in GDP numbers, government borrowing, the fiscal deficit, the importance of transparency, statistical skills, and public input in the budget-making process, and much more.For more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube

In this conversation, Puja Mehra and economist Amol Agrawal discuss the history and evolution of banking in India, the establishment of princely state banks, their merger into the State Bank of India, the emergence of new banking forms and much more.ABOUT AMOL AGRAWALAmol Agrawal is a teacher of economics having taught economics at Ahmedabad University and now currently visiting faculty at Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics (MDAE). His research focuses on economics and he has many published papers and articles. His blog Mostly Economics is very popular and is a respected resource on economics. He has also written a book History of Private Banking in South Canara District(1906-69).  For more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube

In this conversation, journalist Puja Mehra speaks to economist Nikhil Gupta about the financial situation of households (including weakening income growth, growing debt, and reliance on non-mortgage personal loans), the intricate relationship between the household and corporate sectors, recent trends in savings, investments, and borrowings, and much more.ABOUT NIKHIL GUPTANikhil Gupta is Senior Vice President at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. His work is in macroeconomics and tracking India's economy.For more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube

In this conversation, journalist Puja Mehra speaks to economist Amol Agrawal about the history of private banks in India, how the RBI was setup, banking regulation through the years, the beginnings of some of India's most iconic private banks and much more. ABOUT AMOL AGRAWALAmol Agrawal is a teacher of economics having taught economics at Ahmedabad University and now currently visiting faculty at Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics (MDAE). His research focuses on economics and he has many published papers and articles. His blog Mostly Economics is very popular and is a respected resource on economics. He has also written a book History of Private Banking in South Canara District(1906-69).  For more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube

In this conversation, journalist Puja Mehra speaks to economist Rathin Roy about India's economic growth and challenges, the country's economic transformation, the need for inclusive development, the growing disconnect between the masses and the growth process and much more.ABOUT RATHIN ROYRathin Roy was the Director and CEO of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) in New Delhi. He has previously worked as an Economic Diplomat and Policy Advisor at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with postings in London, New York, Kathmandu and Brasilia. He has also served as an Economic Adviser with the Thirteenth Finance Commission, New Delhi, in the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India. He was part of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council and was a member of the last pay commission that recommended pay hikes for central government employees as well as being a member of the selection panels that chose the two governors of the RBI. His policy interests and research has mainly focused on fiscal and macroeconomic issues pertinent to human development in developing and emerging economies.For more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube

In this conversation, journalist Puja Mehra speaks to former secretary with the Ministry of Agriculture Siraj Hussain about agriculture policy, managing food inflation, minimum support price, wheat procurement, nuanced policies that balance farmer interests with consumer needs and much more.ABOUT SIRAJ HUSSAINSiraj Hussain joined the IAS in 1979 and served the Govt for 37 years. He has worked as the Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing and as Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture. At present, he is Chairman of the Board of Directors of National e-Repository Limited, a director on the board of Shri Renuka Sugars Limited and also a trustee of World Food Programme Trust for India. He writes regularly on agriculture and food policy for various reputed publications.For more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube

In this conversation, journalist Puja Mehra speaks to economists Maitreesh Ghatak and Rishabh Kumar about poverty estimation in India, historical trends in poverty reduction, defining the poverty line, poverty in rural areas vs urban areas and much more.ABOUT MAITREESH GHATAKMaitreesh Ghatak is Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics since 2004. He is an elected Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the International Economic Association. His main areas of research interest are development economics, public economics, and the economics of organisations. He is a co-editor of Economica since 2016 and is also in the editorial board of several journals. He has served as the Lead Academic of the International Growth Centre’s (IGC) India–Bihar programme and as an external member of the Research Committee of The World Bank. He is a founding member of several research networks: Theoretical Research in Development (ThReD), Economics of Social Sector Organisations (ESSO), and Non-profits, Governments, and Organizations (NGO) and writes regularly on economic, political and policy issues for a broader audience with a special focus on India in various newspapers, magazines, and blogs. ABOUT RISHABH KUMARRishabh Kumar is currently assistant professor of economics at The University of Massachusetts Boston.  He writes about current & historical inequality/poverty, economic development and political economy. He has previously taught at  California State University, San Bernardino and worked in government for New York City’s Department of Finance. He received his PhD in Economics from The New School for Social Research in May 2017.For more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube

In this conversation, journalist Puja Mehra speaks to Chakshu Roy about challenges faced by members of parliament in contributing to economic policymaking, the importance of research support, the limitations of the parliamentary system and much more.ABOUT CHAKSHU ROYChakshu Roy is an expert on the rules and procedures of Parliament and its functioning. He anchors programs to strengthen the capacity of legislators at the centre and state level. He supports civil society organisations to engage with legislatures and has trained journalist groups about tracking the functioning of Parliament and State Vidhan Sabhas. He has also been involved in setting up the first comprehensive database of state legislation in the country. He writes regularly on legislative issues and about the strengthening of the institution of Parliament.For more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube