The citizens of India are enjoying a longer life and better living conditions as a result of increased life expectancy, increased standard of living as well as medical advancement. The longevity of life, if not planned well for retirement, could imply a high fiscal burden for the government on...

Ever since the onset of financial sector reforms in India in early nineties, the proposal for separation of debt management from monetary management and setting up of an independent Debt Management Office (DMO) gained prominence. As both debt and monetary management became market oriented, the...

India suffers from severe housing shortages, especially for the economically weaker sections of the society. And the house prices have been booming for nearly a decade. The markets are opaque, price indices have not been developed, market suffers from absence of regulator and there is no...

In the aftermath of recent global crisis, the issue of separation of monetary policy, fiscal policy and debt management has re-emerged. In many countries, during the period of crisis, scope of fiscal policy was expanded and debt to GDP ratios increased significantly. Consequently, debt...

Interest payments are significant component of expenditure, and are a part of the obligatory category of expenditures of the government. A substantial share of the tax collections of the government of India is taken away by interest costs. In 2014-15, interest payments were 3.3 per cent of the...

Should India retain the distinction between revenue and capital classification in its Budget format? There is a constitutional provision for distinguishing between the two expenditures, revenue and capital, and various committees appointed by the Government of India have expressed their opinion...

The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBMA), 2003 sets fiscal rules that seek to foster fiscal discipline on the Central Government and achieving a balanced budget with effective revenue management. The Act sets targets and suggests means of reducing fiscal and revenue deficits....

Financial inclusion can play a key role in facilitating inclusive economic growth particularly in a developing economy. An inclusive finance must provide better banking services to all sections of society, especially low-income and weaker sections. The uniqueness of having a bank account is that...

Punjab has been in the forefront of providing food security to the nation but now it needs help as the per capita income of Punjab, from the highest in the country in 2000 is now much below that of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Haryana. The high unemployment rate in...

In India, banks have played an important role in economic growth and development. Since the 1970s, public sector banks (PSBs) have been in the forefront of mobilizing resources from far flung rural areas as well as extending banking services in the remotest parts of the country. The burden of...