Skip to main content

Govt. prefers votes over reforms, again

Cold water has been poured yet another time on the government's plan of deregulating the oil sector and freeing up the oil prices. And this time around, there has been more than just one culprit. First is the fuel price itself. When the talk of de-regulation first started doing the rounds, oil prices were perched quite comfortably. However, with the same inching up and touching the government threshold mark of US$ 67 per barrel, politicians seemed to have developed cold feet. For they do not want to greet the public with a fuel price hike, which at the current crude oil price would have become imperative. Secondly, with elections staring in the face in one of the states and also with one of the government's biggest allies eyeing elections at its home state, price revision could prove counterproductive. The oil ministry however is unwilling to admit that its hands are tied and instead, giving out assurances that although the decontrol of oil prices is definitely on its agenda, its implementation will have to wait. That's what we have been doing all these years, haven't we?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Biyani looks at the bigger picture

It is important to look at the holistic picture and have an individual opinion rather than get swayed away by the public consensus. This is the view of the man who pioneered the retailing boom in India - Mr. Kishore Biyani, the founder of India’s largest retailing company - Pantaloon. In an article in the Wall street Journal, Mr. Biyani wrote, "Almost daily doses of bad news on television screens and newspapers have possibly done as much damage to the economy as the events on either side of the Atlantic." I completely agree with him. Mr. Biyani’s predicament is based on the fact that an overwhelming majority of Indian consumers are self-employed, who can neither get laid off nor can have pay cuts. Consider some statistics he has provided. The share of the national income represented by proprietor-run concerns and partnerships is 35%. The share of companies is around 15%, government around 25%, and agriculture around 25%. Combine agriculture and the self-employed in industry a...
1 comment
Read more

Insight from the new book "The story of work" by Jan Lucassen. Work that never ends

The more things change, its turn out to be the  same as it ever was.  A new book about the history of work reveals that today’s workers have much in common with all those who have come before them over the past 12,000 years.  People’s appetites drive them to produce more than they need, and they build political and economic institutions to help them do it. Then those institutions drive them to do more. NYT ( see the story in the link)  also talks about  Gluttons for punishment.  We work so much because we want so much. That was anthropologist James Suzman’s conclusion after studying hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari Desert who satisfied their survival needs with roughly 15 hours of weekly labor. But modern, urban societies cause us to develop unlimited desires, which lead us to endless labour https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/podcasts/transcript-ezra-klein-interviews-james-suzman.html?cid=other-eml-onp-mip-mck&hlkid=38845d000b404e829c41b7395739f39a&...
Post a Comment
Read more

Influencer Marketing - Creating Conversation, Don't just be part of it.

Influencer Marketing is growing rapidly   Influencer outreach has matured, grown in size, influence is still defining itself within the world, jockeying for position among more established routes to consumers.  Instead, we must acknowledge the role influence plays in reputation management, and how its unique success can best benefit the company.  The question is no longer if you should partner with influencers.  At the outset, many were skeptical of this approach to communication. Indeed, as social media matured, this new kind of stardom, or at least fame, was not wholly embraced.  Create Conversation Don't just be part of it   The conversation is no longer something that you can plan for on a calendar. Today, it happens serendipitously. So as audience-first trends bubble up across social media, brands need to embrace these cultural catalysts, rather than trying to forcefully wedge PR moments into the digital space.  Just let the hits happen.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more