All posts by KAVALJIT SINGH

It’s Time for a Solidarity Tax

By Kavaljit Singh | Briefing Paper # 37 | May 15, 2020

Last month, Peru’s President Martin Vizcarra proposed a Solidarity Tax to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed solidarity tax would be temporarily imposed on wealthy and super-rich Peruvians earning more than US$3,000 a month. The tax authorities are expected to raise 300 million soles (US$88 million) per month in additional revenue from the solidarity tax.

Targeted at the wealthier sections of society whose livelihoods have been less disrupted by government-enforced lockdown restrictions, the proposed solidarity tax…

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Why India Needs to Tweak its FDI Rules

By Smitha Francis | Commentary | May 14, 2020

Reactions have come in from different quarters after the Indian Government introduced new screening rules for foreign direct investment (FDI) last month. The latest Press Note on FDI (Press Note 3, 2020) has made government approval mandatory for all foreign investments from countries with which India shares a land border. Approval has been made mandatory also for cases where the beneficial or ultimate owner of an investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of any such…

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COVID-19: A Triple Whammy for Emerging Market and Developing Economies

By Kavaljit Singh | Briefing Paper # 36 | April 23, 2020

Even though the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the US and European Union has captured the world’s attention, one should not lose sight of the pandemic and its associated health, economic and financial stability challenges in the rest of the world. As the COVID-19 pandemic advances globally, Africa and South Asia are witnessing a surge in the number of new cases lately, and these regions could soon become its next epicenters in the coming weeks….

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COVID-19: Challenges Before the G20 Trade Ministers

By Biswajit Dhar | Briefing Paper # 35 | April 5, 2020

Trade Ministers from G20 countries met on 30th March, days after the heads of states and governments of the major economies for an Extraordinary Summit meeting, to take a coordinated stand in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In these extraordinary times, the Trade Ministers agreed that the “international community to step up cooperation and coordination to protect human life and lay the foundations for a strong economic recovery and a sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth.”

In times when…

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Coronavirus Triggers Large Capital Outflows from India

By Kavaljit Singh | Policy Brief # 6 | April 3, 2020

In March 2020, foreign investors pulled out a record Rs.1182 billion (US$16 bn) from the Indian financial markets as the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic triggered panic selling across all emerging markets. As per official data released by the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) together pulled out Rs.619 bn ($8.3 bn) from the equity segment and Rs.603 bn ($8.1 bn) from the debt segment in March (see Table 1).

The capital…

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