Dheeraj Kalgutkar

In Raghuram Govind Rajan, we have lost not only a finest mind in the world of economics today but also a free-thinker who minced no words in calling a spade a spade. What you’ve heard enough is that Rajan predicted 2008 global financial crisis three years before in his 2005 paper, Has Financial Development Made the World Riskier? But what you’ve not heard is how he holds the record for being the youngest-ever Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) apart from IIT as well as IIM degrees. Time magazine recently included him in their coveted ‘The 100 Most Influential People’, it wrote , “ he steered India through the global crisis and fallout, playing a large role in making it one of the emerging-market stars of the moment”. Remember how social media was full of rupee-on-free-fall jokes? That’s when Rajan took the job of Reserve Bank of India Governor. Those were the days when rupee used to fall each day to new lows, jokes on ‘finest economist’ (then) PM Manmo...

His subordinates are taking his silence as tacit approval The Indian Prime Minister who was till now silent on growing intolerance in the nation and recent lynching to death of a Muslim citizen over rumors of beef eating has finally broken his silence for good. “Dadri incident or the incident against the Pakistani singer is sad and unwelcome. But what is the role of the central government in it?” the Prime Minister asked. PM is right in asking such an question, it was not under the jurisdiction of Centre government that these incidents occurred, but is there nothing that he could have done to ease the tension that prevailed aftermath of it? For those who are unaware of latest turn of events in India, a 50-year-old man, Mohammad Akhlaq, was beaten to death and his 22-year-old son severely injured on a dreadful night in UP’s Dadri, allegedly by residents of Bisara village, after rumors spread in the area about the family storing and c...

Everyone who follows news or not but on social-media platforms knows that something is going on in a part of world called Syria. Few know what it is but don't know why and those who know why too, wonder why US president Obama is pitching for war against state of Syria. This piece is for all such enthusiasts who know bits and wish to explore more. To know exactly what is going on in Syria and why is a challenge in itself. On basic note as New York Times says it: Syria and its history are actually complicated. So mastering its happenings ditto is long, tedious and near impossible task. Let us not deal the same. To begin with, Syria is a country in middle-east, along the eastern shore of Mediterranean Sea with population of 22 million. It is diverse, ethnically and religiously, but most Syrian’ are ethnic Arab and follow Sunni branch of Islam. Presently it is in the middle of extremely violent civil war, fighting between rebels and government forces has killed 100,000 and ...

On Monday Congress led United Progressive Alliance government breathed sigh of relief as they succeeded in passing landmark Food Security Bill touted as UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's dream project in lower house of parliament. The Food Security Scheme aimed at providing food grain to whopping 82 crore people of India who fall below poverty line at the cost of Rs. 1,30,000 crore will be largest of its kind in the world. The bill will guarantee 5kg of rice, wheat and coarse cereals per month per person at a fixed price of Rs. 3, 2, 1 respectively. Price can be revised every 3 years. To realise a scheme of its calibre govt would require 62 million tonnes of food grains at its disposal but given the state of our godowns and ill storage one will doubt regarding its success. At a time when no day goes with reportage of grain-drain in rainy scum or stills of rotten grains in open storage across nation, anyone would be interested enough to know how this game-changer schem...

Dear Manmohan Singh, It was nice to see you in glass cubicle at Red Fort from where Prime Minister of this largest democracy address its citizens on the occasion of Independence day. I wondered primarily what in the name of god you were doing there! Isn't it supposed to be Prime Minister of India who shall address the gathering of people who sit there? May be madam ji had problems with her script or was it the fear of Narendra Modi that kept her away... I believe it's the later one as Singh saab too was reading from a neatly written placard rather from his mind. Sorry, sorry sir, I simply forgot; mind is meant for clever, decisive people! Why would someone who listens blindly to dumb orders need that stuff in one's head? Makes sense! Sir, my apologies to you. I never bothered to listen into what you try to decipher from that secure cubicle. Are you feared regarding your life on Indian soil, sir? But why? Don't we roam on streets equipped with nothing, y...

Narendra Modi: Intelligent bluff-master or unparalleled developer...!  Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh which have been hit by worst ever combination of monsoon, cloud bursts and landslides all at once has witnessed hitherto unseen visitors who if am not wrong scarcely visited any of this hill towns prone to sabotage round the clock. From PM to UPA Chairperson to CMs of other states to voyeuristic ministers, all have visited the ravaged sites in name of aerial surveys or to get a 'eyesight' of how 'bad' the place has been hit. They came and gone causing technical hues to the rescue operations as they bring with them the baggage of VIP status plus their security 'convoy'. Hmm, yes. They didn't help rescue any of the men or women stranded in those 'dead' hills now. They all came and gone; but our man was at to arrive, arrive with hope and promise which only superman could understand or can do away with. Next? Next is what they call some miracle!...