C P Chandrasekhar-Frontline

More stories by this author

Freebie phobia: The BJP’s concerted attack on redistributive transfers

Although the BJP is against ‘freebies’ in principle, in practice it has been forced to use a version of concessions and transfers to counter the oppos

C.P. Chandrasekhar

Outside the IMF headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 19. The mood was one of gloom when the world’s financial leaders met in mid April in Washington, D.C., for the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Inflation leaves world economy in disarray

Inflation has been accelerating over the past few months. And supply levels and price trends are signalling imminent crises in global energy and food

C.P. Chandrasekhar

The afternoon traffic in Los Angeles, California, on April 4. The third installment of the Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC casts a dire warning for the future of climate change with the world on track to expend its remaining ‘climate budget’ by the year 2030 at the current rate of carbon emissions.

Climate finance: A costly dodge

The burden of climate finance must be shared fairly. But, in the context of the work being done by the IPCC, developed countries talk of measures such

C.P. Chandrasekhar

A container vessel being offloaded at the East Container Terminal of the Colombo port on June 2, 2021. In 2021, the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government cancelled a tripartite agreement that the Maithripala Sirisena government signed with India and Japan in 2019 for the development of this container terminal and handed the contract to the Chinese government’s China Harbour Engineering Company.

Inherited problems that led to Sri Lanka’s economic crisis

The Sri Lankan crisis has been intensified by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. However, the government’s attention is focussed on its foreign exch

C.P. Chandrasekhar

The fragility of contemporary capitalism

The Ukraine situation is having unexpected economic consequences, such as an explosion in nickel prices, and a prolonged war could be catastrophic for

C.P. Chandrasekhar

The United States economy is currently witnessing its highest rates of inflation in 40 years.

Financial markets at a turning point as inflation looms large

High inflation in advanced economies is forcing central banks to go back on their unconventional monetary policies. It also spells trouble for emergin

C.P. Chandrasekhar

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with the folder-case containing the Union Budget 2022-23 outside the North Block, in New Delhi, on February 1.

Union Budget 2022-23: Government reduces spending on welfare, sticks to conservative fiscal stance

The Narendra Modi government choosing to stick with its regressive fiscal agenda in an election year sends out a clear message: it places all its bets

C.P. Chandrasekhar

Vodafone, India’s third largest mobile telecommunications network, has been posting losses for the past few years.

The 'pretend nationalisation' of Vodafone India

The Modi government’s acquisition of a 35.8 per cent stake in Vodafone India is part-nationalisation that supports a set of well-heeled private teleco

C.P. Chandrasekhar

The State Bank of India operates through more than 22,000 branches across the country and provides customers access to more than 64,000 ATMs and close to more than 70,000 business correspondents.

Co-lending: Another bonanza for private capital

The recent State Bank of India-Adani Capital co-lending scheme to help farmers is not only loaded in favour of Adani Capital but also appears to facil

C.P. Chandrasekhar

Migrant workers from Bihar walking back home from Ghaziabad on the outskirts of New Delhi on May 13, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the economy and livelihoods, leading to greater inequality.

Engineered setback: Government's COVID response aggravates economic crisis

The COVID-induced devastation and the state’s tepid response have enhanced the severity of the current economic crisis and official claims of a V-shap

C.P. Chandrasekhar

Jay Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said that the Fed was unlikely to begin raising interest rates while it was still purchasing bonds.

End of an era of cheap money?

Across the world, there is a sense of apprehension about the economic future owing to signs of inflation and a readjustment of monetary policy in adva

C.P. Chandrasekhar

Mountains deforested to make way for massive limestone quarries in Ipoh, Perak State, Malaysia, on November 5. Cutting trees both adds carbon dioxide to the air and removes the the earth’s ability to absorb existing carbon dioxide.

The gaping holes in climate finance

The claim that private capital is “available” to help countries meet their climate change goals not only diverts attention from the problem of inadequ

C.P. Chandrasekhar