🧵I’d the privilege to see 1st hand soo many difficult decisions Hon’ble PM @narendramodi took during Covid under TREMENDOUS UNCERTAINTY. India is lucky that he led us brilliantly during the once-in-a-century pandemic. 1/5
Of course those who lost loved ones during the Delta wave will feel strong emotions & I respect that. But, we’ve to concede we are a population of 1.4 billion with a poor health infrastructure bcos of decades of neglect. And it takes time to fix such neglect. 2/5
Bcos of PM @narendramodi’s leadership, India has emerged #AtmaNirbhar & stronger with tremendous confidence. His decisions on both health & economic sides displayed tremendous statesmanship. If he had worried about criticism, he could not have taken such difficult decisions.👏3/5
I remember privately thinking and feeling grateful on soo many occasions that India didn’t hv MMS under @INCIndia as @PMOIndia during the once-in-a-century pandemic. From @INCIndia record in GFC, it is clear India wud’ve had 100x worse outcomes in Covid. 4/5
Under @INCIndia, policy paralysis, myopic decisions, blamegame among ministers, and extensive corruption wud’ve led to 100x more deaths, 20%+ inflation every month for 2 yrs, & Economy in shambles worse than Fragile5 during GFC!
🧵As I have consistently said before, my son was in Class 11 in 2021 & I wanted to be there for him in his crucial 2 yrs (11&12) the way my Appa was there for me at a similar stage in life. One of my biggest strengths is clarity of thought, esp w/ priorities in life. 1/5
Clarity of thought comes for me from minimising regret. If my son were to not do well academically bcos I was not there for him when he needed me (& I cudn’t hv handling the CEA responsibility which is 24x7), I would have regretted that my entire life. Can’t afford that. 2/5
I come from a lower middle-class background. I wudn’t hv done well but for my parents making me & my brother their priority. I cud only repay that debt by paying it forward to our kids by making sure that they remained our priority. 3/5
.@PChidambaram_IN This🧵uses your OWN Oped articles to expose your HYPOCRISY. @INCIndia take note of your 4-time FM's hypocrisy using his OWN Oped articles.
Start with his statement 👇& read how often he contradicts them in his OWN oped articles. 1/n
"In UPA years, b/w 2009-11, inflation was indeed high. And the reason is obvious. It was bcos Mr. Mukherjee following other FMs believed in stimulus packages. We spent money we didn't have & so inflation went out of control." 2/n
Oped titled "Spend, Borrow, Monetize" by @PChidambaram_IN in @IndianExpress on 30-May-2020, caption is "The model advocated by almost all economists is fiscal stimulus. That means only one thing: spend more." Operative phrases: STIMULUS, SPEND MORE! indianexpress.com/article/opinio… 3/n
🧵on why Silicon Valley Bank fiasco could be the Canary in the Coal Mine (despite the program that the Fed brought out). See graphic👇explaining the phenomenon. The nature of deposits (specifically startups putting their deposits in SVB) is not as material to the phenomenon. /1
Any bank that has gotten much more deposits than it could lend, & so invested heavily in securities faces unrealized losses on its securities portfolio & is therefore v vulnerable.
Question then: What about the program that the Fed came up with /2
Fed program was brought to stop panic leading to bank runs. While it may help, the crisis (looming bank failures) has not blown over. Why do I say so?
Two reasons: 1. The program essentially pushes the "can down the road" by 1-yr in the hope the policy rate would be ↓ then /3
Every prominent politician mentioned in /1 except @RahulGandhi had to work their way up. One may agree or disagree with their politics; one may like or dislike them. But it’s undeniable that they all - except @RahulGandhi - had to gain acceptability thru their political merit. /2
In every field, skills r required to excel. Those who achieve prominence w/o the help of GodFathers must possess a high level of initial skill & work hard to hone that skill in order to succeed. “Political merit” = the set of skills required to succeed in politics /3
🧵Why 2004-14 is India's LOST DECADE. #1 See video👇 where Dr. @APanagariya questions Dr. Montek Ahluwalia "What has your govt done to spur growth in the last 10 yrs?" and asks a list of ONLY 5 measures. No response from Montek apart from a v weak point /1
#1 contd. : In the video, Montek says 10-yr growth can't be bcos of measures over 20-yrs! Such a weak defence... Truth is the growth was bcos of favourable global eco (=high tide lifting all boats) & reform measures by ABY govt /2
#2 Pls read this book by @APanagariya. See in the description of the book itself and I quote from the same: "Although Dr Manmohan Singh, who had been the finance minister when India’s economy was liberalized, served as the prime minister during both these terms, reforms came /3
Seeing trains,🧵on Appa whom I owe my ALL... he worked w/ Indian Railways. My best childhood memories r w/ trains. Holidays meant train travel. Crucially, Appa cudn't tell us to study😀Train travel & not being told to study by Appa correlated. Maybe, that's why I love trains. 1/n
Must relate some (now, not then) fond memories of the "terror" that Appa was w/ studies & his leniency with everything else. Neither me nor my brother Prof. K Vaidyanathan (2 yrs my younger) wud've achieved what we did but for that "terror" that he was on our studies. 2/n
Bcos of his "terror" on studies, both my bro & I went to study @IITKanpur Electrical Engg as top-rankers in IIT-JEE. In fact, Appa was known in South-Eastern Railway as "The Krishnamurthy whose both sons are IIT top rankers." He used to feel soo chuffed at that description! 3/n