Do it yourself

 Si tting on the banks of river Betwa, overlooking the majestic Orchha palace and Lord Raja Ram’s temple, I had a fascinating talk with two farmers from a nearby village. During the course of our discussion, I learnt that they are real brothers; have a family of 11 people, including grandfather, parents and five children aged 3yr to 13yrs including three sons and two daughters; own less than one acre of land and have been tilling another acre on rent; besides they own one cow. They mostly plant wheat during rabi season and vegetables in kharif and intermediate period. Caste wise they were from Kushwaha community that falls in other backward class (OBC) category. Their families are mostly dependent on government schemes for ration, education of children and healthcare. They live in a semi pucca house constructed five years ago with the help of government subsidy. They have six bank accounts for their family members, mostly used to receive various benefits from the government and o...

 The US Federal Reserve has comforted the global markets with assurance of maintaining strong intent to control prices while not being unnecessarily disruptive in terms of monetary tightening. The markets are apparently reading a 0.9% contraction in the US economy in 2Q2022, as sufficient ground for the Fed to be mindful of the likely disruptive impact of the future hikes; given that the US economy is technically in recession after having contracted for two consecutive quarters in 2022. The marked slowdown in the economic activities in Europe and China; and easing of the global logistic bottlenecks has noticeably moderated the inflationary expectations, as reflected in the yield curves across the globe. The fears of 1930s type hyperinflation appear to have subsided, at least for now. The equity valuations are gradually adjusting to “above zero” and “neutral” interest rate regimes. The recognition of “positive rates” however is still missing from the popular narrative and hence re...

 With each passing day, the realization is growing that it will “years” not months or quarters before the normalcy returns to the global economy. Regardless of the statistics on global trade, national income and corporate earnings, the impact of pandemic on humanity, especially poverty, inequality, and suppression is overwhelmingly devastating. The pandemic has indubitably undone the decades of efforts in poverty alleviation and public health in numerous developing and underdeveloped countries. As per a recent Bloomberg report based on a study conducted by the World Bank and Philippine’s local agencies, “almost half of shuttered businesses were unsure when they could reopen”. As per the report, “in emerging parts of Southeast Asia, where a wave of job losses and weak social safety nets mean millions are at risk of losing their rung on the social mobility ladder. The region is likely to come in second behind the Indian subcontinent in charting the number of new poor in Asia this y...