The Khandwalla prescriptionMonday, April 12, 2010,02:00:59 AM
As we celebrate the diamond jubilee year of our country becoming a republic, we face a paradox. While a number of developed countries are struggling to cope with an economic meltdown and recession, we are perceived to be a rising major economic power. At the same time, we have a shameful record of corruption and poor governance which makes us figure at the bottom of any international list of the indices of human ....
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Top billing for the BillMonday, March 22, 2010,12:55:47 AM
The Women’s Reservation Bill, which is aimed at reserving one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies for women, is, indeed, a landmark in the political history of young, democractic India. As a senior citizen belonging to the pre-Independence generation, I find that this Bill represents an old reality of Indian politics. It also opens up exciting new ....
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New bet on the farmSunday, March 14, 2010,09:54:05 PM
The annual budget of the Government of India has become an occasion for media hype and endless commentaries by experts in public finance. The business papers and the 24x7 news channels act as drumbeaters in this annual ritual. This year’s budget has also been presented with the usual hoopla. Corporate India has by and large welcomed it. The stock market rallied after the budget was presented. The finance minister claimed in his speech, “This ....
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Open the medical chest Sunday, February 28, 2010,10:33:23 PM
Outsourcing of business from developed countries to developing countries, where the same business could be carried out cost-effectively, is a significant practice in global business. This continues to be the driving force behind the dramatic growth in IT and IT- Enabled Services (ITES) industry in India. In the healthcare sector, medical tourism is rapidly emerging as a hot sector, as individuals in the developed countries, especially the US, are ....
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Surviving art attackMonday, February 22, 2010,12:45:33 AM
Globalisation and IT ,the two dominant forces shaping our life and world today pose a threat to our arts and culture. Globalisation has imposed uniformity in taste be it of junk food, pop music or jeans. Pop culture makes traditional arts and craft unpopular as their markets shrink and disappear. Those who rely on our traditional arts and crafts for a living just cannot survive. IT is closely linked with knowledge and can be applied particularly in every art. But this ....
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Silent cancer of Indian artsThursday, February 11, 2010,01:49:21 AM
Arts represent the quintessence of a people. It is a reflection of their unique view of the world and their creative urges. In short, arts are the very soul of culture. As Indians, we are proud of our culture and arts. Thanks to our long history and the vibrant diversities over a nation of continental dimensions, we have inherited a rich treasure house of heritage . Nevertheless, not many of us are aware and acutely conscious of a silent cancer eating ....
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In office, but not in powerThursday, February 11, 2010,01:49:15 AM
Recent media reports spoke of many ministers of state in the government complaining to the Prime Minister that their seniors, the cabinet ministers, did not give them any work. Translation: they were like politicians in office, only without power. Their complaint was reminiscent of a remark of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the cabinet of John Major, who succeeded the redoubtable Margaret Thatcher as the Prime Minister, “We are in office, but not ....
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Land a better dealThursday, February 11, 2010,01:49:08 AM
A big hurdle that faces every major industrial or infrastructural project in India is acquiring land for executing the project. The need for heavy investment in infrastructure projects like power and roads is universally recognised. Innovative instruments for raising financial resources for mega projects have been devised. Thanks to financial engineering, mobilisation of funds from the private sector and through PPP ( Public Private Partnership) have ....
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Corporate governance 2.0Thursday, February 11, 2010,01:49:02 AM
January 7, 2010 marked the first anniversary of the most striking corporate scandal in the post-liberalisation era. It was on January 7, 2009 that Ramalinga Raju, the visionary leader of Satyam Computers — an iconic company in the glamorous information technology (IT) sector — made a five-page confession about the Rs 7,000-plus-crore fraud he had committed over a period of six years. Ironically, this was the period when Satyam ....
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Right to oppose viewsThursday, February 11, 2010,01:48:06 AM
Our irrepressible Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, got into hot water recently after he made a remark about the foreign policies of Jawaharlal Nehru. According to press reports he had said, “I agree with Bhiku Parekh’s opinion on Nehru and (Mahatma) Gandhi’s foreign policies. It was more like a moralistic running commentary.” Parekh is a British Labour Party ....
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It is one of the delicious ironies of Indian politics that the Congress got two of its catchy vote-winning slogans, thanks to the opposition. In the 70s, Indira Gandhi’s Congress came up with the smash-hit Garibi Hatao slogan in response to the opposition’s single-point agenda of Indira Hatao. History was repeated in 2004 when the NDA’s refreshing campaign of ‘India Shining’ made the Congress rediscover its love for the aam aadmi (Hindi for common man, ....
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