Long read: Personal income tax now over 30% of govt’s tax revenue, significantly higher than corporate tax
India’s tax collections seem to be undergoing a range of structural changes, changes which could have a far-reaching impact on the Indian economy. TCA Sharad Raghavan’s piece highlights some of the more important changes. First, he highlights “Income tax from individuals now comprises more than 30 percent of the government’s total tax receipts, significantly exceeding […]
Long read: The ‘genius’ Indian who shattered caste barriers
On 21st October, Penguin published Marcellus’ latest book, ‘Behold the Leviathan: The Unusual Rise of Modern India’. One of the central pillars of the book is the rise of Indian women. More specifically, we highlight in the book that women from the most oppressed sections of Indian society are climbing the educational ladder faster than […]
Short read: An ode to ignorance
A key attribute of a successful investor often talked about is the commitment for continuous learning. Indeed, this could apply to any profession. And the commitment for learning arises from the acknowledgement that we will never know, let alone understand, all that is to be known or understood i.e, a recognition of our ignorance. Here’s […]
Short read: Google’s DeepMind researchers among recipients of Nobel prize for chemistry
Increasingly, computer science, and in particular, Artificial Intelligence are becoming incredibly ubiquitous. To the extent, Nobel prizes in basic sciences such as physics and chemistry are getting awarded to people who have used AI to further their craft. Such as this year’s Nobel prize for chemistry: “…some of the best brains in chemistry do not […]
Short read: Instead of Being Cynical, Try Becoming Skeptical
Business life in highly competitive free market democracies like India and the US can be a tough affair. Those who spend enough time in these sorts of economies working in senior management roles often become battle-hardened cynics. This book excerpt seems to have been written especially with such people in mind (which might be most […]
Long read: What makes entrepreneurs entrepreneurial?
Several business schools offer courses in entrepreneurship. Yet, none of the best entrepreneurs the world has known, seem to have undergone anything remotely scholastic a training to get there. Hence, the general belief that entrepreneurs are born and very rarely made, at least not from any formal training. However, can we work backwards and figure […]
Long read: ‘Midgets making widgets’: New paper says Indian factories are smaller than estimated, less productive
The last chapter of our forthcoming book, ‘Behold the Leviathan: The Unusual Rise of Modern India’ (to be published by Penguin on 21st Oct) uses data from the Government of India to dwell on why the vast majority of India’s smaller companies not only struggle to grow their profits, they also struggle to generate meaningful […]
Long read: Introducing the Managed-Service-as-Software (M-SaS) Startup
Last week we went to Silicon Valley to meet VCs and family offices which specialize in tech centric investments. Whilst we were learning about the latest developments in technology from these investor, this year’s Nobel Prizes for both Physics and Chemistry went to AI-centric thinkers. Not surprisingly therefore we learnt in the Valley about new […]
Short read: Rohit Sharma’s legacy: Rewiring his generation, encouraging the next
We’ve tracked the rise of Indian chess as a reflection of the rise in India’s economic fortunes. But there’s no better sport to demonstrate that than cricket. The Indian cricket team up until the early noughties (barring the 83 and 85 ODI wins) was notoriously known for capitulating under pressure, suggesting a lack of confidence […]
Short read: Buy Low & Sell High: Why Is It So Difficult?
Whilst we all would love to buy a stock before it rallies and sell before it crashes, in reality, sometimes we do buy a stock after it has had a decent run and sell when it has corrected. It does seem to go against the Buy Low and Sell High doctrine so popularised by Warren […]
Short read: Indian elephants lost genetic vigour as they moved north to south, 5 distinct populations exist: Study
Did you know that India’s elephants – all of whom originate in north India – now have five distinct populations? These and other fascinating findings are the result of a study conducted by a team of researchers from the Bengaluru-based National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Their research […]
Long read: Are We Too Impatient to Be Intelligent?
Rory Sutherland is the vice chairman of Ogilvy and Mather (O&M), the iconic advertising agency. He is an author most noted for his book Alchemy: The Power of Ideas That Don’t Make Sense. His articles and interviews are as entertaining as they are insightful. Much of these insights come from his work on Behavioral Science, […]
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