A woman with a book and a pen has the power to move nations. A woman with a mind and a voice has the power to change worlds 06 Sasha Temerte KNOWLEDGEPEDIA PUNJABI THALI What is Dosanomics then? ormer governor of `1,00,000. He wishes to use this DECODING RBI Raghuram Ra- money to buy a dosa. Now, the jan used dosa to elu- cost of a dosa today is `50. So, F cidate complex eco- today he can buy 2,000 dosas nomic theories. When Rajan with his saved money. But the Famous for rich, buttery flavours along with the extensive became Governor, banks in retiree knows that he can in- vegetarian and meat dishes, the thali comprises sarson ka India were offering a high rate vest this money in a term de- saag, makke ki roti, tandoori roti peeli dal, rice and various of interest (about 10%) but posit and the next year he will meat dishes the inflation rate was also have more money to buy very high (about 10%). dosas. But, quite often, we EXAMPLE: Let us suppose that don’t account for inflation. Let HIMACHALI THALI The Economic Survey of India for the first time introduced the term Thalinomics — the a retiree has a total saving of us explain further... economics of a plate of food in India — in an attempt to figure out how much a meal costs. The 2019-20 Economic Survey has found that veg thalis became 29% more affordable compared to 2006-07, while non-veg thalis became 18% more affordable A vegetarian thali The Govt has tried to For this, price date Thalinomics includes a serving of calculate if the cost from the consumer price cereals, lentils and veg- index for industrial simply means of a thali for both The thali is loaded with hot and spicy lentils, etables; a non-vegetari- workers for around 80 economics of a an thali includes a serv- vegetarians and centres in 25 states/UTs vegetables, sidu, which is a kind of bread and non-vegetarians has meetha bhaat (sweet rice mixed with nuts). The thali meal in India ing of cereals, lentils from April 2006 to Oct blends in both sour and sweet flavours and meat increased 2019 was used SCENARIO 1 RAJASTHANI THALI The government The govt also claims But a non- claims that the that an average house- High-interest rate, High inflation 10% hold of five individuals vegetarian thali cost per thali ➤ The retiree knows that if he puts his money in a that eats two vegetari- gained `11,787 bank’s fixed deposit at 10% p.a. for one year, he will be during this period an thalis a day gained on an average able to buy 10% more dosas next year. has actually around `10,887 on an ➤ So, by the end of the year, he gets back his principle average per year decreased per year of `1,00,000 and an interest of `10,000. So, he can buy 220 dosas for `50 each. Right? ➤ What’s the catch here? Inflation! ➤ As the economy is experiencing 10% inflation this year, the price of dosa increased from `50 to `55. So, with his `1,10,000, he can still buy only 2,000 dosas. So, the net gain of investing in a term deposit was zero. The elaborate thali comprises dal baati churma, missi roti, ➤ His purchase power is still the same: 2,000 dosas. gatte ki sabji, panchmela dal, laal maas, bajra roti, buttermilk and desserts like malpuas and moong ka halwa NAGA THALI SCENARIO 2 Low-Interest rate, Low inflation 5.5% ➤ Now, let’s say the economy was experiencing a 5.5% inflation rate. With an 8% interest rate, the retiree would have `1,08,000 in his account. The rate of a dosa now is `52.75 (because of a 5.5% interest rate). ➤ This would allow the retiree to buy approximately 2,048 dosas. ➤ High inflation; High-interest rate — 2,000 dosas ➤ Low Inflation; Low-interest rate — 2,048 dosas SIZE OF THE THALI THE ORIGIN OF QUESTIONS RAISED ➤ Dosanomics tells us that the retirees are earning vegetarian thali has been defined as ECONOMIC COMPAR- as a thali become affordable? Has (48/2000) 2.5% more dosas even with lower The Nagaland thali brims with vegetables, chillies and Aone that consists of 300g of cereals H inflation in the price of a thali interest rates! a variety of meat and fish, which are often smoked, dried (rice and wheat), 150g vegetables (pota- ISON WITH FOOD increased or decreased? Is the infla- CONCLUSION: Rajan claimed that the only way is to or fermented to, onion, tomato, brinjal, cabbage, cauli- tion the same for a vegetarian thali halinomics may just evolve holistically lower inflation. flower and okra) and pulses (arhar, gram, as for a non-vegetarian one? Is the into India’s very own Big moong, masoor and urad). For a non-veg- T inflation in the price of a thali differ- MADHYA PRADESH THALI Mac Index, which informally etarian thali, dal has been replaced by ent across states and regions in measures the purchasing power When a student egg, fish and goat meat. India? Which components account for parity of currencies of dif- the changes in the price of a thali – asked ferent countries the cereals, vegetables, pulses or THE TERM through a price the cost of fuel required for its aking a cue from his comparison of preparation? asked the Tpredecessor Raghuram G. McDonald’s Economic Survey. Rajan Rajan’s DOSANOMICS, chief hamburger economic adviser K in the Subramanian unveiled stated Thalinomics in the Economic geographies. Survey for 2019-20. The MP thali comprises poha (rice flakes cooked with spices), rogan josh, saboodana khichdi, korma, seekh PRICE FLUCTUATIONS THE kebab, achari gosht etc; rounded off with the famous Bhopali paan The chapter ‘Thalinomics: The SURVEY Economics of a Plate of Food in India’ INDICATES Even with inflation rates lowering, why are states the absolute prices of a veg- dosa prices continuing to rise? ODISHA THALI ... that the reforms undertaken a etarian thali have decreased signif- ajan responded, vances, the dosa business has- icantly since 2015-16, across year ago to enhance agricultural “You have hit on an- n’t been scaled yet. Balassa- India. However, the price of a productivity as well as efficiency R other issue in eco- Samuelson Effect states that nomics, which is called in a fast-growing economy vegetarian thali has increased in and effectiveness of agricul- tural markets for better and the Balassa-Samuel- like India, the sectors that 2019 (April-October), mainly son effect.” aren’t improving their tech- due to the increase in more transparent price discov- BALASSA-SAMUELSON nology will see higher price prices of vegetables ery led to change in prices of thali. EFFECT states that countries inflation than others. with high growth in produc- Thus, the overall effect is and dal. “…the Simplifying further, an individual who would have spent around 70 per cent of his/her daily wage tivity also have high wage that citizens of developing increase in the rate growth. countries have to endure of inflation in the thali on two vegetarian thalis for a household of five Rajan explained that the high inflation. Often gov- during 2019-20 is a temporary in 2006-007 is able to afford the same number technology for making dosas ernments keep interest rates of thalis with around 50% of his/her daily hasn’t improved much. But, high to relieve the inflation phenomenon that should revert as staff wages are constantly in- pressure from the lowest in- wage in 2019 (April-OOctober). The thali is simple, less spicy and oily, yet intricately has happened in earlier years,” creasing. While workers in come group. flavoured. No Odia cuisine is complete without rice, fish, the survey states. factories and banks can now serve a larger audience be- By CHAITANYA BAWEJA, seafood, saag and yogurt cause of technological ad- Machine Learning Engineer SIKKIM THALI JHARKHAND THALI JAMMU AND KASHMIR THALI KERALA THALI The state’s thali has mouth-watering dishes such as Rice dishes along with meat preparations such as The state’s thali is a mix of steamed and fried goodies chhilka, dhuska, kurthi daal, red rice, lal saag, dehati rogan josh, yakhini, harissa etc form the delicious An amalgamation of flavours ranging from spicy to sweet, including dishes such as Dal bhat (boiled rice and lentil soup), chicken, dudh peetha, sattu ka parantha, ghugni, litti- Kashmiri thali, accompanied with the favourite the thali comprises sambar, avial, pineapple/mango Thukpa, the noodle-based soup, momos, Phagshapa etc chokha, balushahi etc beverages – noon chai and kahwah pachadi, kichadi, olan and for non-veg, there is seafood.