It seems likely that there will be a hullabaloo over OXFAM’s reported claim that bottom 50% of IND pay 64.3% of GST. A cursory analysis of OXFAM's (atrociously researched) reported reveals clever wordplay and accounting shenanigans that will make a Goldman banker blush. 1/n First examine the above claim mathematically.
OXFAM says that the bottom 50% of Indians pay 6.7% of their income as GST. It is being reported that this translates to 64.3% of all GST revenue. Something OXFAM also highlights as indicative inference (see report below). 2/n

This “India needs Free Trade and lower tariffs” is one of the most egregiously misinformed screeds that ignorant western commentators subject us to with nauseating regularity.
Here is a little lesson in Economic History for Mr Dhume.

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wsj.com/articles/india… In 1776 a new country was created in the Western Hemisphere. One of its primary challenges was to chart a path to industrialization and match the technological might of its erstwhile master, Great Britain.
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Was looking to buy a new watch when I stumbled upon this fascinating history of Japanese watchmaking and how they unseated the Swiss. Many lessons in Industrial policy for us here.
1/n At the turn of the century the Americans dominated mass watchmaking and the Swiss were the preeminent purveyors of Haute Horlogerie. Japan had begin to modernize and had imported 700,000 clocks. 2/n

Surprisingly many who were demanding triple peer reviewed data from Bharat Biotech on Covaxin’s effectiveness have enthusiastically embraced WHO numbers without a murmur on methodology and data quality.

A long semi technical thread that will beg your patience and attention 1/n Notwithstanding the opacity with which WHO has spliced data from different sources to create a single subnational panel for India, there are deeper methodological concerns about these estimates. 2/n