Across the spectrum of government-allotted projects, it appears there is no pie in which Adani does not have a finger. The Gujarat government rescued the Adani Power Project from the brink of bankruptcy. Adani is the sole beneficiary of the Vizhinjam and Mundra Ports project and will soon to be handed over control of six airports.

It takes special talent to be Anil Ambani. He took a billion-dollar business, one half of one of India’s largest corporate empires, and dwindled it down to nothing. After the Supreme Court order that has asked him to pay ₹453 crore, will history remember him only as Mukesh’s unsuccessful brother?

Online giants Amazon and Flipkart have been messing with our local retailers and with elections round the corner how can the government not show concern? They have tightened FDI rules for e-comm. But will this impact customers?

As reports surface of a doubling of the Indian household debt, it’s a good time to pause and assess the situation. Is this merely a blip in our spending activities, or are we veering toward a westernised consumer culture as feared by so many of our right-wing leaders?

The super-populist interim budget of 2019 had something for everyone – small farmers, the middle class, and retirees. Considering this is an election year, we expected nothing less than a budget to appease the masses. For once, the government has not disappointed.

This year’s budget will be worth watching. Even if all we really care about is section 80, there is a lot there that will tell us what our government is thinking. With an election coming up, that’s more important than scrolling through your Instagram feed.

A look back at the year that was for India’s economy. 2018 began with the PNB scandal that might have drawn an impressed slow clap from Vijay Mallya, and ended with the RBI governor resigning, replaced by a man with as much fiscal competence as a gambling addict.

The face of financial frauds in India in 2018 was Nirav Modi… with dishonourable mentions for Nitin Sandesara, Vikram Kothari, and the OG Bank Chor Vijay Mallya. Let’s hope our public sector banks will take up a New Year resolution: Avoid reckless lending.

The farm loan waiver is the political Brahmastra, the Draw Four card you play just before the other guy is about to shout “Uno!” because it’s a lot easier to keep farmers on the brink of financial ruin and then sprinkle waivers around to remind them which political party really cares.

When the BJP lost in 2004, we said, “It’s about time.” When they lost again in 2009, we were pleasantly distracted by the poor showing of the CPIM and the idea that a stronger coalition might mean better policy enactments. When Congress lost in 2014, we were back to “It’s about time.”