Piecing together disparate data for economic and market insights
This appeared in the Times of India on 2 February 2026 (link) Sometimes, boring and predictable is good, if not great. The FY2027 union budget ticks that box.Greater certainty of fiscal and regulatory policies for businesses and investors enables them to take business risk – an essential condition to reduce India’s long-term cost of capital. … Read more
This appeared in the New Indian Express on 1 February 2026 (link). Published online: 31 Jan 2026, 11:14 pm The 2026-27 budget is being presented at a time of rare macroeconomic stability in India—strong growth with low inflation. This is a result of the government prioritising economic stability over short-term growth imperatives: a conservative and … Read more
This appeared in the Times of India on 2 February 2025 (link). The choice of the title in the print version is not mine. Even though the role of govt has shrunk meaningfully over the last three decades, muscle memory of years when GOI had a dominant footprint still builds up expectations around the Union … Read more
Government is undertaking difficult job of dialling back its spending, marking a near complete unwinding of the pandemic-driven fiscal expansionWritten by Neelkanth MishraFebruary 2, 2024 06:55 IST This appeared in the Indian Express on 2 February, 2024 (link). Economic theory suggests that governments should spend more when private firms and households do not feel confident … Read more
Neelkanth Mishra | 2 November 2023 This appeared in the Economic Times on 2 November 2023 (link). Nineteen months after the Fed started hiking interest rates, and forecasters issued recession warnings, US growth remains robust, with 2023 forecasts getting upgraded. Economic output in the September 2023 quarter rose a remarkable 4.9% year-on-year, much better than … Read more
As the resilience of the domestic economy gets tested by global headwinds, deft fiscal manoeuvres may be necessary Updated: February 2, 2023 07:40 IST | Neelkanth Mishra This appeared in the Indian Express on February 2, 2023 (link) As the state’s footprint on the economy has shrunk over the past three decades, the relevance of … Read more
Indian government bonds are now cheaper than Indian equities. The post-Budget rise in bond yields in India is more due to plumbing challenges than insufficient savings Neelkanth Mishra | Last Updated at February 7, 2022 23:20 This appeared in the Business Standard on February 8, 2022 (link). As economies emerge out of the shadows of … Read more
Governments face a new fiscal situation: They have more funds than they can allocate Written by Neelkanth Mishra | Updated: February 2, 2022 4:58:16 am This appeared in the Indian Express on 2 February 2022 (link). If the tax-to-GDP ratio continues to climb, as it appears likely to, fiscal space may continue to expand, even … Read more
Tax receipts are surging and markets are primed for higher state government deficits, but states are struggling to spend Neelkanth Mishra | Last Updated at January 11, 2022 00:13 IST This appeared in the Business Standard on January 11, 2022 (link). One can easily spend a few thousand rupees, maybe even a few lakhs, but … Read more
This appeared in the Explained section of the Indian Express (link) on 26-January-2021. On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present what could turn out to be India’s most consequential Budget in years. What is the status of the post-Covid recovery process, and what are the concerns going forward? What should you look for … Read more