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Contributor : Profile

Name Surname

Gurbachan Singh

ISI, Delhi Centre
gurbachan.arti@gmail.com

Gurbachan Singh is an independent economist, and adjunct faculty at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Delhi Centre. His research is at the interface between finance and macroeconomics. His emphasis is on theory to explain the real world; his writings are primarily on policy. He writes research papers that are in-depth, fresh, exploratory, simple, and with a broad perspective. The main motivation is to understand and highlight the shortcomings of the system that lead to macro-financial instability in one way or another. He is also a keen teacher; his main teaching is on ‘Finance and Volatility’ at ISI Delhi Centre. He received his Ph.D. from ISI Delhi Centre, M.A. from Delhi School of Economics (DSE), and B.A.(Hons.) from Hindu College, University of Delhi. His other interests include good cinema.

Posts by Gurbachan Singh

Huge bank losses, frauds, and economic risks

Banks have incurred humongous losses in India. The public authorities have taken corrective measures primarily in the form of strengthening laws, audits, and the enforcement processes. In this articl...

  • Perspectives

Self-employment: Elephant in the room

While nearly half of the labour force in India is self-employed, persistent low standards of living on a large scale imply that not many of these are ‘entrepreneurs’. Much of the self-employment ...

  • Perspectives

Bubble in bitcoin or elsewhere?

The price of Bitcoin has skyrocketed. Gurbachan Singh contends that there may or may not be a bubble in cryptocurrencies. If there is a bubble, then the prices will fall eventually, and the story will...

  • Perspectives

Recapitalisation of public sector banks, and financial repression

Government of India recently announced its decision to infuse Rs. 2.11 trillion of fresh capital into public sector banks, financed partly through recapitalisation bonds. In this article, Dr Gurbachan...

  • Perspectives

Purchasing power parity: Some concerns

In this article, Dr Gurbachan Singh discusses how it may be problematic to make international comparisons using PPP that is based on observed prices, and why effective prices should be used instead.

  • Articles

Should India hold US$400 billion of foreign exchange reserves?

RBI’s foreign exchange reserves have now crossed the US$400 billion mark. In this article, Dr Gurbachan Singh discusses why India’s Central Bank should not hold such large reserves.

  • Perspectives

Towards financial prescription

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has proposed that the distributors of mutual funds should only be allowed to sell financial products and not act as financial advisers for customers. Drawing...

  • Perspectives

Reconsidering the 4% inflation target

The RBI targets an inflation rate of 4%. In this article, Gurbachan Singh takes an in-depth look at the prevailing macroeconomic policy regime. This exercise provides an insight, which forms the basis...

  • Perspectives

Demonetisation: Some very counterintuitive effects in practice

Due to demonetisation, holders of black money lose if they cannot exchange their notes or sell these in the black market. It is widely reasoned that this implies an equal financial gain for the public...

  • Perspectives

A closer look at demonetisation

In this article, Gurbachan Singh contends that black money and white money are simplistic concepts; there is a grey area as well. In his view, the economic effects of demonetisation in terms of real e...

  • Perspectives

The tussle between RBI and Ministry of Finance: A different dimension

The popular belief about the tussle between RBI and the Ministry of Finance is that it is an issue of the trade-off between inflation and economic growth, with the former more focussed on controlling ...

  • Perspectives

Public sector banks: The more things change, the more they stay the same

Banks Board Bureau has been set up to help the government appoint heads of public sector banks (PSBs) and to advise on important issues in banking. In this article, Gurbachan Singh asks basic question...

  • Perspectives