The man who made home loans possible in India!
HTP founded the Housing Development and Finance Corporation (HDFC), back in 1977, and for the first time made it possible for salary-earning, middle-class Indians to become home owners long before retirement. EXPLAINED: How Budget helps turn black money white
What is worrying analysts is that such money that flows into India seems to be the money of Indians, sent abroad first through the hawala route and then subsequently laundered abroad, especially in tax havens. How India could be transformed into a tax haven
The key question is whether the finance minister can aim for this by saying 'No' to all or most of the special interests, many of them very vocal. If the Union Budget were a human being...
If the union Budget were a human being it would score high on body language. Post-protest: Challenges of building local economy
What is really at stake is the future of the local economy and its place in the larger picture. How will media companies make money
The online audience will attract only a fraction of the ad rates the one on television gets. Budget '11 is an item number. By Sheila for Munni!
Budget 2011 merely reflects the drift in the central government. Perhaps never in the history of independent India, with the sole exception of the period during Emergency, has the central government suffered from such a credibility crisis. Budget: The math looks dodgy
The FM puts a positive spin on the Budget but the math looks dodgy. Is the Budget's fiscal strategy credible?
Premised on the 'best-case scenario' in terms of growth and revenue, the Budget seems unprepared for a possible slowdown. A balancing act: Some relief for the common man
One can say that with the host of expenditure plans announced in the Budget, the finance minister has managed not to burden the common man directly with taxes. Budget 2011 and the dilemmas of a taxpayer
I strongly believe that if the government does indeed have the mindset and launches the machinery to severely punish white collar criminals, my life will be easier albeit in a convoluted manner. EXCLUSIVE! 'UPA has abandoned the aam aadmi!'
In an exclusive column to Rediff.com, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat explains what is wrong with the Union Budget 2011-12 that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented in Parliament on Monday. How the FM plans to curb rising prices
The finance minister has shown a pre-occupation with controlling prices. Defence fund: Incapable of meeting growing threats
The increase in defence budget from Rs.147,344 crore (Rs 1,473.44 billion) in fiscal 2010-11 to 164,415 crore (Rs 1,644.15 billion) in fiscal 2011-12, reflects a gain of 11.59%. Does the Budget have a human face?
Now 60 per cent of India's agriculture is rainfed and rainfed farmers and areas have the largest concentration of poorest people. Budget: Is there enough in it for farmers?
The finance minister has increased the quantum of rural credit, with particular emphasis on short-term crop loans for small farmers and focussed heavily on improving food storage and processing infrastructure as well as supply chain management. Will the FM present a 'historic' Budget?
The finance minister's legacy will be determined by this year's Union budget. Of walking the fiscal tightrope
Ballooning fiscal deficit can derail India's growth momentum Why govt borrowings may remain high in FY12
In our view, the overall fiscal consolidation could impart a negative fiscal impulse after 3 years of positive impulse. Here's what our MPs will decide in Budget Session
Parliament met on Monday for the Budget Session, starting with the President's address. This session will likely focus on financial issues, other debates on important national issues, and legislative Bills. How gigantic sums of public money are being lost
BSNL shall be bankrupt by the end of 2011, Indian Railways is bleeding; Air India has run up a total debt of Rs 40,000 crore. T V R Shenoy on the figures that tell the government's story. Scams, high prices, pro-rich policy could maim UPA
As the crucial Budget session of Parliament begins, the UPA has a major chance to correct course. If it wastes it, it risks disaster, says Praful Bidwai. Does India need the new accounting norm?
How rhetoric smuggles IFRS into India. Should India's super-rich pay more taxes?
India has a very low tax/GDP ratio by world standards. Of Posco, responsible investing and reality
What is urgently needed are transparent and highly credible mechanisms for mapping actual impacts on the ground -- and sifting the truth from claims made by different sides of the dispute, says Rajni Bakshi. IT greats who changed the world
Marc Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sergei Brin and Larry Page of Google, Steve Jobs of Apple and Bill Gates of Microsoft -- visionaries, missionaries or monopolists? A bit of all, I suspect, says B S Prakash. 2G scam: The DB Realty-DMK puzzle
'The CBI suspects A Raja of favouring Swan Telecom, a wing of DB Realty. A chain of firms connected to DB Realty transferred over Rs 200 crore to a television network connected to M Karunanidhi's immediate family....' Is the world seeing a job recovery?
Global growth may be rebounding, but labour markets are not, or only very weakly and unevenly. Why Internet freedom is under threat
As the people of Egypt are finding out, the Net is about freedom -- to share creative ideas, to express dissent and oppose repression, says Rajni Bakshi. Wanted: More information on public projects
With public has access to such info, it would become much harder for entrepreneurs, bureaucrats and political leaders to break the rules for their own gain, says Rajni Bakshi. How to curb corruption? Scrap Rs 500/1,000 notes!
The government needs to announce a cut-off date (say March 31, 2011) about 2-3 months in advance for scrapping the big bills. In this 2- to 3-month period, people can go to banks (authorised for this purpose) with their existing bills of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500, and exchange them for the bills of Rs 100 denomination. Why is the UPA so unprepared for economic crisis?
'This is how it works in Delhi. Step One: Wait for a shortage to develop. Step Two: Run around squawking until the deafest trader on the global markets has had the message drummed into his ears. Step Three: Engage in panic buying from abroad at suitably inflated prices.' Sibal's 2G scam defence: Is the PM his target?
Whether Sibal has effectively defended Raja or not as a counsel is unclear, but his target seems to be the prime minister, feels M R Venkatesh. Why food is costlier and TVs cost less
Twenty years ago, a branded 1.5-tonne window air-conditioner cost about Rs 30,000; today, you can get a split AC unit for that price. Why has that not happened with vegetables? 2010: High profile projects hit the green hurdle
The year 2010 was a loud year when high profile projects hit the headlines for non-compliance with environmental regulations. Should a stock exchange also be a regulator?
The securities market regulators were not to be born till a couple of centuries later and it was the stock exchanges that had to lay down the rules for admitting members and conditions for trading. Corrupt relationship managers: Blame the bank
Most banks follow lax selection and due diligence procedures as long as relationship managers bring in the money. Lessons for micro-finance from 2010
The year 2010 was a tumultuous one for micro-finance institutions (MFIs) in India. Big plans, zero execution in 2010
G20 meetings last year degenerated into a sort of a grand junket for stressed out global leaders. October - December 2010 | August - September 2010 | May - July 2010 | February 2010 | March 2010 | April 2010