Political Economy.

8 essays · The Pritiraj Review

Essays on the money: fiscal federalism, devolution, tariffs, enterprise and the economics that decide what the state can afford to do.

All essays Institutions & Reform Political Economy Governance & Delivery State Capacity Federalism & the Northeast Resources & Climate Work & Livelihoods

01Political EconomyThe Arithmetic of Absence — Why Air India Is Losing a Market It Was Built to LeadAir India's FY26 loss hit ₹22,238 crore as domestic share fell to 23.9%. A structured analysis of why the turnaround is stalling — and the correction required.6 AUGUST 2026 02Political EconomyThe Forty-One Percent Illusion — State Finances After the Sixteenth CommissionThe 16th Finance Commission held devolution at 41% and discontinued revenue deficit grants. Why a headline of continuity conceals the tightest state fiscal settlement in a decade.2 JULY 2026 03Political EconomyThe Campus Economy — India's Quietest Special Economic ZonesRoughly 37% of notified SEZ land is in use. Meanwhile four university gates have built the concentrated capital, talent and IP pools that SEZ policy spent twenty years trying to engineer.18 JUNE 2026 04Political EconomyIndia's Demographic Clock — The Deadline Beneath Every Other DebateA median age of 28 in an ageing world is India's greatest advantage and its deadline. The working-age share peaks in the 2040s; everything else is a question of what gets delivered before then.11 JUNE 2026 05Political EconomyThe Tariff That Was Never Lawful — What India Conceded, and What It Should LearnIndia negotiated relief from a 50% US tariff in February 2026. Three weeks later the US Supreme Court held the instrument behind it was never authorised. A lesson in negotiating against legal durability.14 MAY 2026 06Political EconomyThe Missing Middle of Indian EnterpriseOnly 14% of India's MSMEs have formal credit, against a gap estimated between ₹25 and ₹30 lakh crore. Indian firms stay small because staying small is the rational response to the system around them.9 APRIL 2026 07Political EconomyThe Title Is the Asset — Why Indian Land Cannot Be Used as CapitalIndia's land records are presumptive, not conclusive. A landholding you cannot prove you own is a landholding you cannot borrow against, sell cleanly, or defend in court.26 FEBRUARY 2026 08Political EconomyThe Capex Budget and the Capacity to Spend It₹12.22 lakh crore of capital expenditure against a 4.3% deficit. The Union Budget 2026-27 makes a coherent bet — and hands the binding constraint to the states.5 FEBRUARY 2026