Very hard-hitting interview of Dr Vinaye Ancharaz in today’s l’express (15th Dec)

We subscribe fully to the points raised, as partly summarised below:

1. Economic irresponsibility of this regime: « En réponse aux défis de la pandémie, le gouvernement est venu de l'avant avec une panoplie de mesures fiscales et monétaires. Il est clair, cependant, qu'une telle réponse a été limitée par un manque d'espace budgétaire déjà érodé ces derrières années par une mauvaise gestion des finances publiques et des emprunts irresponsables. »

I’m ashamed of my health minister & my government !

There is that groundswell of anger building up, the outrage at the nepotism, the insider dealing, the state capture and the disgraceful forms of rodeurs-boutes’ advantage-taking; the rage at a veritable class of hangers on, cronies and other parasites and thieving lots that are draining the country ; frustration at the level of grave irresponsibility , gross incompetence and blatant amateurism of this regime and utter despair that we have slumped to such lows-the rock bottom- never reached before.

Cry my Beloved country ! Cry for change ! Cry out for a better leadership to get us out of this present mess !

Jackpot for the BOM’s Governor !

Rs 600,000 as Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee(MPC)

This is not fake news....this is day light robbery

Black Friday for our democracy !

The virus is all around the globe ; its large number of mutations, especially the latest one that they have named Omicron , may increase reinfection risk, given some still early assessments of its transmissibility, its ability to get around parts of the immune system and bypass some, but not all, of the protection from vaccines.(but it is not yet known whether it worsens symptoms).

The credibility and reputation of the central bank is at stake !

Yes, the politically appointed and inexperienced governor of the CB ,Mr Harvesh Kumar Seegolam, and his apprenticing boss, the Minister of Finance , our dear Pada, did it again ! The audited accounts of BOM is now confirming that the accelerated depreciation of the rupee was a deliberate choice.

The latest Moody's reports: The outlook remains negative(baa2) !

The outlook remains negative, although the end of blacklisting is a positive development that decreases our external vulnerability.

Moodys remains concerned about the effectiveness of fiscal consolidation in stabilizing debt. The level of debt stabilization increased from 74% of GNP to 80% in a few months. And the recent PRB announcement will weigh heavily on debt.

It highlights our relatively high debt burden relative to peers; It is also concerned about the inability of monetary policy to fight inflation. Too much liquid injected as a result of the monetary financing of our deficit- An increase in interest rates, however unlikely, would be futile to hold back inflation.

Factors that could lead to a downgrade

A continued deterioration in debt metrics, weaker fiscal policy effectiveness, weakening monetary policy effectiveness as demonstrated by rising inflationary risks would also likely to result in a downgrade. An increase in domestic or external imbalances, as reflected in an increase in price and exchange rate volatility, accompanied by a deterioration in the country’s balance of payments position, could also lead to a downgrade.

The scheming of public debt figures continues - the consolidation adjustment which goes to Rs 16 billion, and the BoM which takes the place of Government to borrow in foreign currency.

More in Sushil’s forthcoming article “All Quiet on the External Front, until …." which concludes that

“Without a critical review of our monetary and fiscal policies, Moody’s might be led to downgrade the country’s sovereign credit rating, which could destabilize the financial sector. A lower rating that just clears investment grade status signals serious economic and financial risks ahead.”

Silencing the critiques: The IBA (Amendment) Bill !

The third wave of the pandemic continues to rage on; the peak is yet to be reached exposing the country's lack of preparedness, the inadequate healthcare infrastructure (as well as medical oxygen) and our misfortune of being ruled by a bunch of thugs and incompetents.