Pranjal Sharma

Imposing taxes on innovation risks Golden Goose and the gig

December 19, 2024

The swift expansion of India’s gig economy represents a double-edged sword for millions of workers thronging a vulnerable yet opportunity-opening space. This expansion starkly contrasts with the Prime Minister’s vision of fostering employment generation, as GST authorities appear to undermine innovative models that create jobs without offering any government support...

Controlling, addictive AI needs immediate attention

December 3, 2021

Can we govern the ungovernable? Should we even try to contain the advance of algorithms? These difficult questions don’t have a simple answer. However, what is clear is that the world needs a strong governance structure to shape the impact of algorithms and AI on our lives. At the core...

Profiteering & pandemic: WTO, pharma industry must introspect

November 19, 2021

Developed countries enjoy giving sermons on human rights to the rest of the world. But their words don’t always match their actions. Many of their actions hurt humanity and the poorest of the world. The crisis of vaccines ‘intellectual property’ waiver is the latest example of the rich world putting...

FARMERS’ AGITATION OR SAVING THE MIDDLEMAN?

November 28, 2020

There are several interesting dimensions to the new agriculture laws and the Opposition. In India every producer has the freedom to sell their output to anyone. So far this was true for every category except the farmers. Under the new laws, the farmers will have the choice to sell directly...

RCEP and India: Between the Lines

November 21, 2020

The decision to not participate in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has sparked another debate about India’s strategy for global trade. What is RCEP? It is a trade agreement between Asian countries first proposed at an ASEAN meet in 2011. This has been backed by China in response to another...

Reduce reliance on China, boycotting is pointless

June 22, 2020

Economic relations between India and China have grown rapidly in the last few years. There was a belief that the two giants would lead the world in production and consumption as the economic centre of gravity moves to Asia. While business links grew, the political relationship didn’t. Despite several years...