10 Comments
May 18, 2022Liked by Anil Padmanabhan

Always heartening to perceive a ray of bright hope, in an otherwise grim situation confronting countries all over the world, except perhaps currently, a handful of oil exporters. The point about developing connectivity through increased construction of roads, leading to prosperity, is I feel, a very important point Anil. The government has allocated the maximum amount to UP for this purpose and the State government has gone ahead and done a massive expansion of the road and highway construction in the State. If UP does well, then the target of reaching a 5 trn $ economy is possible. Another critical aspect mentioned in your article, is the sincerity behind any endeavor. If it is a hurried eyewash before an election, like it happened previously, then it results in further drain from a depleted exchequer; but when the same expenditure happens with an eye on future growth, then the amalgamation of efforts will result in a tangible benefit of permanent value.

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May 18, 2022Liked by Anil Padmanabhan

Dear Anil,

Informative, well researched and crisp article !! The NFHS 5 data does show positive trends as there is decline in fertility rates, access to improved sanitation has increased, but disturbing facts are also there.

Proportion of children who are underweight has increased in many states .So our welfare schemes need to focus on this crucial findings. Also gender based violence has also shown upward trends in some states .

But surely the "trickle down effect " seems to be happening in India.The pictures of three legends Charlie Chaplin , Michael Jackson and Murphy are a treat to the eyes !!

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May 16, 2022Liked by Anil Padmanabhan

This is really awesome ‘connecting the dots’! Thank you. I noticed that all these metrics are what traditionally have been called ‘access metrics’, which india seems to have solved quite a bit. The difference between the demographic that reads this article, and the other 99%, has been about quality and equity. That usually comes down to choices in an economy, and eventually my quality of life or perception of how/whether government works. Would love to hear your thoughts on that in some future piece. Your column has become my go-to in my very short time on Substack.

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May 16, 2022Liked by Anil Padmanabhan

Dear Anil

I'm very impressed with the amount of research which has gone into this article. It's very heartening to note that atlast the benefits are reaching the beneficiaries. I just hope that the term middleman would be a thing of the past. I'm very intrigued as to who coined this term middleman? How come he was powerful enough to be omnipresent in all the schemes to ensure that barely 15% of the benefits eventually reached the common man.

Thanks for sharing the Tanishq ad. It addresses every working woman's guilt whether she is neglecting her child in order to do justice to her work and vice versa.

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Amazing read sir. Clearly illustrating the multiplier effect infra has on economic front. Kindly to shed some light on All India Debt and Investment Survey (2019) you have mentioned. It would be informative.

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