Amit's Musings

Is Real Estate in India a Sinking Ship or a Hidden Gem? Unraveling the REIT Revolution That Never Was Real estate in India is a paradox—cherished as a cultural cornerstone yet criticized as a capital-intensive, illiquid investment. High entry costs and low rental yields (2-3%) fuel skepticism, but appreciation in cities like Bengaluru and tax benefits keep it alluring. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) promise accessibility, liquidity, and professional management, yet only four are listed on NSE/BSE, managing ₹1.52 trillion in assets. Despite SEBI’s robust regulations, REIT adoption lags due to low awareness, cultural biases toward physical ownership, and tax inefficiencies. Performance-wise, REITs (6-39% returns, 5-6% yields) trail Nifty 50’s 30% annual gains but outshine its 1-2% dividends. Root causes include regulatory hurdles, developer reluctance, and entrenched lobbies favoring traditional real estate. This essay dives deep into India’s real estate landscape, REIT barriers...

How Spain’s Religious Obsession and Economic Blunders Paved the Way for America’s Pacific Ascendancy   Spain’s colonization of the Philippines, sparked by Magellan’s 1521 arrival and solidified by Legazpi’s 1565 settlement, was driven by Catholic zeal and the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade’s promise of wealth. Unlike the pragmatic British and Dutch, Spain and Portugal prioritized religious conversion, enforcing orthodoxy through friar abuses and the Goa Inquisition, which alienated locals and stifled economic growth. Spain’s failure to industrialize, coupled with political chaos, left it vulnerable to the rising United States, which seized the Philippines in 1898 during the Spanish-American War—a conflict rooted in broader U.S.-Spain tensions in the Americas. The Pacific trade empowered the U.S. to dominate a region less contested than the Indian Ocean, marking its emergence as a colonial power well before the World Wars. This essay delves into Spain’s decline, its rivalries, an...