How to get a 10x gain in FDI; Tax exemptions for innovative startups; episodes

How to get a 10x gain in FDI

Obtaining much more FDI is central to the project of achieving high economic growth in India. FDI into India has fared poorly, even though there is great buoyancy in global firms building `global capability centres’ into India, and global firms are keen to reduce their reliance on China. My column in the Business Standard last Monday is titled How to get a 10x gain in FDI.

State funding in innovation policy through tax exemptions: the case of Indian startups

The field of innovation policy is about using government resources to fund innovative activities where there are high spillovers (e.g. see Mashelkar et. al. 2024, and EiE Ep59). One instrument for this field can be privileged tax treatment of innovative activities, as tax exemptions are tantamount to tax expenditure. Some such mechanisms have arisen in India to support innovative startups. On The Leap Blog today, there is an article Who is “innovative”? Unpacking the process of tax exemption grants to startups, by Aneesha Chitgupi, Karthik Suresh and Diya Uday, which worries about how this is being done.

Episodes

6 September: Episode 63 of Everything is Everything with Amit Varma, Knowledge lost and knowledge regained.

13 September: Episode 64 of Everything is Everything with Amit Varma, The global tech wars.