In 1991, as in 2025, the report cards of these two economic trajectories remain underwhelming. But as economists see it, politics got in the way each time.
Paper released by think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace also points out that apex statistical regulator National Statistical Commission lacks legislative backing.
Despite growing passenger volume, 11 out of 14 carriers reported losses in 2023-24. IndiGo recorded profit of Rs 8,167 crore, which reduced to Rs 7.253 crore in 2024-25.
Of the total package, $649 million will be utilised for additional hardware, software, and support services, and the remaining for Major Defence Equipment (MDE).
None of Pakistan’s PMs has lasted 5 years. That the current PM has given Asim Munir 5 years shows that of all military dictatorships history has seen, Pakistan’s is most creative.
Irrespective of who’s 35 years it is, and howsoever brilliant these individuals were, in the larger scheme of things it hardly matters. India continues to remain this desperately poor country with limited economic prospects. Sadly nothing seems to change this.
Quality journalism from The Print. Kudos to Vandana Menon for this brilliantly written essay. This is high quality long form journalism, which is in short supply nowadays.
However, I would like to add that Mahalanobis was a statistical pundit whereas Singh was an economist. Quite naturally, Singh understood aspects of the Indian economy which Mahalanobis did not or could not.
But the data collection and processing framework built by Mahalanobis was a pioneering achievement for India. From 1947 till the late 1980s, the breadth and depth of sample surveys along with highly sophisticated data processing methodology put India on a league of it’s own. Most developed countries did not have such high quality data regarding the myriad aspects of economy and society. All developing nations and most developed nations looked up to India when it came to government statistics. This, in turn, resulted in a wealth of information that domain experts could turn to for policy making in their respective fields ranging from public health to education to economy.
This will remain as Prof. Mahalanobis’ legacy and cement his place as a legend of modern India. The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), built by him, enjoys worldwide renown for it’s research in statistics and mathematics.
Unfortunately, nobody trusts the data put out by the Indian govt anymore. Since the 1990s, coinciding with the post-liberalisation era, Indian statistics has lost it’s pre-eminence. Shoddy data invariably leads to poor planning and policy execution.
Excellent article from Ms. Menon.
This is the kind of journalism we expect from The Print. Please keep it up.
Just a word of caution though. Mr. Mahalanobis must be measured by the yardstick of his times. It’s unfair to put the blame on him for India’s tardy growth rate in the 60s and 70s. He never said or even suggested that his ideas were infallible and should not be modified or tempered as per our needs and changing economic scenarios. He always had an open mind and would readily accept suggestions and advice from domain experts.
Unfortunately, those who succeeded him were an abomination and created the License Raj.
Irrespective of who’s 35 years it is, and howsoever brilliant these individuals were, in the larger scheme of things it hardly matters. India continues to remain this desperately poor country with limited economic prospects. Sadly nothing seems to change this.
Quality journalism from The Print. Kudos to Vandana Menon for this brilliantly written essay. This is high quality long form journalism, which is in short supply nowadays.
However, I would like to add that Mahalanobis was a statistical pundit whereas Singh was an economist. Quite naturally, Singh understood aspects of the Indian economy which Mahalanobis did not or could not.
But the data collection and processing framework built by Mahalanobis was a pioneering achievement for India. From 1947 till the late 1980s, the breadth and depth of sample surveys along with highly sophisticated data processing methodology put India on a league of it’s own. Most developed countries did not have such high quality data regarding the myriad aspects of economy and society. All developing nations and most developed nations looked up to India when it came to government statistics. This, in turn, resulted in a wealth of information that domain experts could turn to for policy making in their respective fields ranging from public health to education to economy.
This will remain as Prof. Mahalanobis’ legacy and cement his place as a legend of modern India. The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), built by him, enjoys worldwide renown for it’s research in statistics and mathematics.
Unfortunately, nobody trusts the data put out by the Indian govt anymore. Since the 1990s, coinciding with the post-liberalisation era, Indian statistics has lost it’s pre-eminence. Shoddy data invariably leads to poor planning and policy execution.
Excellent article from Ms. Menon.
This is the kind of journalism we expect from The Print. Please keep it up.
Just a word of caution though. Mr. Mahalanobis must be measured by the yardstick of his times. It’s unfair to put the blame on him for India’s tardy growth rate in the 60s and 70s. He never said or even suggested that his ideas were infallible and should not be modified or tempered as per our needs and changing economic scenarios. He always had an open mind and would readily accept suggestions and advice from domain experts.
Unfortunately, those who succeeded him were an abomination and created the License Raj.