The 15th Finance Commission and Defence Expenditure

ON July 29, the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission were suddenly modified by a presidential order. The commission is now being asked to examine whether a separate mechanism for financing expenditure on defence and internal security should be set up, and how it can be operationalised.

The Systemic Crisis of World Capitalism

THE hallmark of a systemic, as distinct from a cyclical or sporadic, crisis of capitalism is that every effort to resolve the crisis within the broad confines of the system, defined in terms of its prevailing class configuration, only worsens the crisis. It is in this sense that neoliberal capitalism has now entered a systemic crisis.

Article 370 and Kashmir’s Land Reforms

JAMMU and Kashmir was the first state in the country to introduce land reforms. There were two components of J&K’s land reforms. First, the system of absentee landlordism that had prevailed during the Maharaja’s time was completely done away with. The land of the absentee landlords was taken over without any compensation and simply distributed among the tenants; whoever was cultivating whatever amount of land on the absentee landlord’s estate as tenant was simply given ownership of that much of land without having to pay any amount of money for obtaining ownership.

Amit Shah’s Economics

IN justification of the move to end Kashmir’s special status, Amit Shah in his speech in the Rajya Sabha brought in the question of Kashmir’s “development”, arguing that closer integration with the rest of India will bring in much investment into the region. He especially appealed to the youth of Kashmir, promising that they would have larger employment opportunities.

A Striking Contrast

ONE of the immanent tendencies of capital is to commoditise every sphere of life; and under neoliberal capitalism where the immanent tendencies of capital are given full play, we find the sway of commoditisation reaching into new areas. The commoditisation of education which has proceeded apace of late is one instance of this; and now we find commoditisation invading the world of politics as never before.

Fifty Years after Bank Nationalisation

FIFTY years ago on July 19, 1969, fourteen large private banks had been nationalised. Ironically the Golden Jubilee of that event, which had been a significant step in the process of building up a new financial architecture for the country, is being celebrated today by trade unions in the banking sector but not by the government of the day.

Some Disquieting Trends in the Budget

IT is clear by now that the figures provided in the 2019-20 budget are palpably unfounded. The budget has concealed the actual receipts and expenditures for 2018-19 even though these were available, because they show huge shortfalls compared to the budget estimates for that year. And all its estimates for 2019-20 are projections based on the revised estimates for 2018-19, which are close to the budget estimates for that year, rather than the much lower actuals. Hence the budget figures for the coming year cannot be taken seriously. An air of mendacity pervades the entire budget.

The Sluggish Growth in Tax Revenue

THE growth in tax revenue of the union government has slowed down perceptibly in the last two years. The growth (over the previous year) in total tax revenue accruing to the centre was 17 per cent in 2016-17; it slowed to 11 per cent in 2017-18, and further to a mere 8 per cent in 2018-19. Since this growth is in nominal terms, the growth in real terms has been even slower. In fact in 2018-19 the growth in real tax revenue could not have been more than about 3 per cent over the previous year, which is much less than the growth in the real GDP of the country.

The Debate over Inequality

THE debate over inequality has become hotter world-wide. While Trump had introduced substantial tax cuts for the rich in 2017, and Britain’s Boris Johnson, the front-runner to succeed Teresa May, has promised to do the same if he becomes prime minister, there are strong proposals for taxing the rich which have also been mooted. Bernie Sanders had such a proposal for the US during the time that he was seeking the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.

India’s GDP Growth in the Recent Period

THE “Gross Domestic Product” is a concept rooted in an epistemic position which is intrinsically incapable of recognising the existence of a “surplus” in society. A simple example will make this clear. Suppose we have an agrarian economy in which 100 peasants produce 100 units of food; and suppose 50 of these are taken by an overlord through taxes, for consumption by his family and hangers-on. These 50 units will be readily recognised as constituting a “surplus” out of the total output of 100. But the concept of GDP would not recognise this.

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Peoples Democracy

ECONOMIC NOTES