15th Finance Commission: Why the Southern States are protesting?

The Southern States are mainly protesting over a particular term of reference of the new 15th Finance Commission. It is the use of 2011 census as the basis of allocation of tax resources between the states. (Read: Explained: Finance Commission and its functions) The Southern states have claimed that they already contribute more to centre’s funds than …

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The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis – Explained

The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis was the crisis that affected many Asian countries in July 1997. The Asian countries affected were Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines. The crisis originated in Thailand. Thailand’s currency Baht collapsed in July 1997: Thailand had a fixed exchange rate system. It had pegged the value of …

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What is the trade war between US and China?- Explained

What is a trade war? Investopedia defines trade war as, “A negative side effect of protectionism that occurs when Country A raises tariffs on Country B’s imports in retaliation for Country B raising tariffs on Country A’s imports.” Since 2018, the US and China have been engaged in a trade war. This confrontation has led to several rounds of retaliatory tariff increases by …

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Economic Survey Chapter 4: Fiscal Federalism and Accountability

The chapter 4 of the Economic Survey is titled, “Reconciling Fiscal Federalism and Accountability: Is there a low equilibrium trap?” This chapter argues that fiscal federalism and fiscal accountability is necessary for the long-run institutional development of the country. Fiscal accountability involves two things– A low and declining dependence on devolved (transferred) resources by the …

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Mutual Fund basics: What is a mutual fund and how does it work?

What is a Mutual Fund? A mutual fund is a financial institution which collects money from a large number of investors. The money collected is invested in shares, bonds etc. The income and capital gains earned through these investments are shared amongst the investors (after deducting expenses and levies) in proportion to the number of …

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Market stabilization scheme (MSS) in India: Explained

Market Stabilization Scheme (MSS) is a monetary policy tool used by the RBI to manage money supply in the economy. Under Market Stabilization Scheme or MSS, if there is an excess money supply in the economy, RBI intervenes by selling Government securities (like Treasury Bills, Cash Management Bills & Dated securities.). This helps to withdraw the excess …

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