Whose Economy Is it, Anyway? Privatisation, Monopolies and Budget Speak

As India approaches another Union Budget, questions around privatisation and the future of public institutions have regained importance. The names of Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani have come up a lot during elections particularly as opposition parties have alleged that increasing privatisation and wealth concentration in the hands of a few billionaires has been at the expense of larger public. But what has been the impact of such policies?

Is privatisation in India today truly about broad-based economic dynamism or is it fostering market concentration and monopolisation across key sectors—from airlines and ports to energy, telecom, and banking? What will be the consequences for employment, labour rights, credit access, and affordability in an unequal economy marked by rising household debt? And what can we expect from the upcoming budget?

In this conversation hosted by The Wire in collaboration with the Centre for Financial Accountability, The Wire's senior political correspondent Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Surajit Mazumdar, Professor, Center for Economic Studies and Planning,
Jawaharlal Nehru University; Aditi Mehta, former IAS Officer and Amitanshu Verma, Researcher, Centre for Financial Accountability.

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