Public sector bank chiefs are not paragons of HR virtue
Human resource, or HR, development is one of the key portfolios that K C Chakrabarty handles as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor. What Lalu did right for railways, and where others fail
Lalu Yadav's s successors have discarded his shrewd pricing strategy and Indian Railways has tamely slipped back into its old shabby ways, says Sonali Ranade Are agricultural commodity prices peaking out?
We are very close to the peak and may well be in for another leg to the correction that commenced in May 2011, says Sonali Ranade Bengaluru's burning problem: Its garbage
The city's experience offers a lesson to all major urban centres in the country, which will come to grief if they do not follow the right policies. Why government's web censorship is FAULTY
In the poorly planned blocking of several websites and accounts on the social networks Twitter and Facebook, it has demonstrated not just the wrong instincts, but a wholesale lack of effectiveness. Column: Why is Delhi Airport losing money
Delhi airport has been losing money for the past six years because of the heavy interest burden on loans. Caution: Treacherous markets ahead
On the whole expect a very treacherous markets as the price levels could be driven purely by the technical play between bulls and bears as the new trend is established, cautions Sonali Ranade COLUMN: Why a South Asian Union is not a bad idea
The best insurance for the future is to ensure that people are fully employed and not pushed into the arms of communalists because they are compelled to fight for crumbs of a depleted pie of economic opportunity. Mr Minister you are wrong! High prices HURT farmers
Mr Verma argued that higher prices for agricultural goods meant more gains for India's farmers and, therefore, he was happy with such inflation. Column: How can China REBUILD its economy?
Its economy needs radical re-engineering on a par with its original transformation three decades ago. Equity markets continue to be toppish
Spend time accumulating good blue chips that indicate that prices have bottomed out, says Sonali Ranade Markets: Is this the lull before the storm?
The period of respite may presage another period of extreme volatility. Why CAG's numbers on Delhi airport are MISLEADING
The Comptroller and Auditor-General's report on the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) as a public-private partnership (PPP) project makes several valid points, but presents a seemingly factual but fundamentally misleading picture of the total financial outcome. Hungry or not, BPL families to get a free phone!
The arguments in favour of the proposed 'Har Hath Mein Phone' scheme are strong. The challenge lies in its implementation. Why migrant labour is India's LIFEBLOOD
Without the freedom to move anywhere in India to work, citizenship loses much of its meaning, and without the ability to hire from the largest possible pool of labour, growth will become even more difficult to achieve. COLUMN: India is a real market for power
Open access for consumers of electricity and a more effective market exchange for power are necessary. COLUMN: India's next tryst with destiny
Unlike China, India has not clearly embraced its post-reform policy direction The FORGOTTEN task the freedom movement set itself
The government should step up its efforts to improve rural sanitation, for the sake of the children who die as a consequence of cultural apathy. Nation first - GIVE back to the community
ETNOW's Senior Editor Shaili Chopra speaks to corporate citizens and explores if a sustainable model of corporate social responsibility is the way forward for India's growth. India @ 65 - Republic without responsibility
The experiences of 2G scam have demonstrated that at 65, India can be best described as a Republic without Responsibility; a Democracy without any Duty. COLUMN: Corporate funds to parties should be transparent
Corporate donations to political parties are to be welcomed only if they are subject to full disclosure. Look for buying opportunities without chasing stocks
We are pretty much towards the end of a bear market in terms of wave counts and these are times to accumulate blue chips, not sell, says Sonali Ranade Salvaging the UPA gravy train wreck
It is in the interest of all politicians, ruling and opposition who hope to grab power in the next elections, to resolve the subsidies mess here and now. But how can it be done? Sonali Ranade and Shaelja Sharma offer a checklist COLUMN: Defending the Internet, loudly
Internet businesses, including cybercafes, now stand protected because Section 79 classifies them as 'intermediaries' -- not holding them responsible for what people view and upload. COLUMN: Blackouts and unconventional solutions
Instead of just being angry or dismayed by last week's blackouts we could all look more closely at some unconventional, out-of-the-box, solutions that have enormous long term promise. The Fed did not add to the central bank created liquidity
While one must recognise that we are towards the end of a long bearish trend, there is little evidence of the capitulation that is necessary for a confirmation to the end, says Sonali Ranade COLUMN: P Chidambaram as FM? PM hits a new low!
As a sentinel of the nation's finances, he failed to prevent the loot of our exchequer COLUMN: Lessons from the Maruti violence
Under a new industrial relations deal, the worker's basic right to a living wage and decent working conditions, as well as the right of association and collective bargaining, must be respected and made effective. How DROUGHT looms large over Indian economy
Drought looms as large this year as it did in 2009, even as attempts to play down its impact surface. Column: Maruti could have avoided glaring HR goof-ups
The latest round of violence in Manesar brings into sharp focus how Maruti could have done better in terms of industrial relations management. Column: RBI's balance of growth and inflation may be wrong
The Reserve Bank of India, in its first-quarter review of monetary policy, kept the benchmark policy rate constant at 8 per cent. Beware of rallies that fade out quickly
These are times to buy as prices crash; at your own pace, at your prices, says Sonali Ranade Foolish ant and intelligent grasshopper - 2012 version
Call it by whatever name, the economic system of modern times favors indiscipline of individuals, societies and governments. Premium food and beverage market to see fast growth
Premium food and beverage market is expected to grow rapidly. COLUMN: How did the bankers become sexy?
Banks are being squeezed every which way -- on capital, on compensation, on credibility. Jobs in financial services will become scarcer and will pay less. Why workers at Maruti's Manesar plant are disgruntled
The salaries for the top management, which was already better off, have gone up many times whereas wages at the bottom have marginally increased thereby widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Can Gujarat's growth story be attributed to Modi?
In the decade that Narendra Modi has been chief minister, Gujarat has done well but so have other states. In fact, some have closed the gap with Gujarat, particularly in the last five years, argue Sonali Ranade and Shaelja Sharma I-T dept adds column for declaring foreign assets
Tightening the norms, Income Tax (I-T) Department has introduced a new column seeking details of foreign assets in the Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for the 2012-13 assessment year. India missed the bus on reforming its POL sector
As expected, the government did not move in time to grab the fleeting opportunity for POL sector reforms, writes Sonali Ranade in her weekly Market Notes Do we really need the meteorological department?
A dedicated system to make district-wise, five-day forecasts can effectively deliver at one-tenth the Met's expenditure. Why does RBI's balancing theory fail to convince
The word 'balancing' seems to be a favourite of Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao. A bleak future for the Indian economy
India cannot come out unscathed from the current crisis. Can Team Manmohan deliver?
PM's new vigour should revive investment - but may not return India to nine per cent growth. Agricultural commodities: High prices to be new normal?
Long-term trends indicate that the extremely high world agricultural prices are not an aberration but will soon become the new normal, which has humongous policy implications for India's economy, says Sonali Ranade COLUMN: Of wrong rain and the economy
As in 2009, the India Meteorological Department is understating the effect of the delayed, deficient monsoon. Welcome Mr Obama's attention, don't condemn it
US President Barack Obama is known as a measured, temperate man, and his remarks on the Indian economy in an interview, this past weekend should bolster that reputation. Markets are marking time before making major moves
For now the probability of the tradable rally remains very low, says Sonali Ranade Column: Has a serious dollar rally begun?
During 2013 and 2014, we will see both 65 and 50 to the dollar. Best new summer fiction -- Libor
Barclays had been found guilty of submitting false information that had the effect of manipulating the calculation of the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, which is the interest rate at which banks are ready to lend to other banks. Modi's myths about Gujarat's growth and other hype
Gujarat's success story deserves all the credit that good performance demands. However, the credit for it owes to economic reforms and the entrepreneurial tradition of Gujarat, say Sonali Ranade and Shaelja Sharma Mobile phone radiation affects you: What's the govt doing?
While we laud the dramatic rise in India's tele-density thanks to the mobile phone penetration, it is concerning to see most subscribers, including the educated class, unaware of the possible health hazards due to radiation from mobile phones and mobile towers. Nobel to Team Manmohan - for MISMANAGING the economy
If the dream team was responsible for the economic growth between 2004 and 2008 they are responsible for the fall between 2008 and now. Lessons from Kasab for the financial sector
Abu Jundal is the latest hot property in terror-related news in India. Newspaper reports are replete with stories of how intelligence agencies are gleaning more information from him. India booming? Well, not exactly!
It is time for India to rebalance itself by sorting out its social and health issues and reorganising its soft infrastructure Of Barclays and other corporate scandals
This has been a season for corporate scandal. Most markets are poised at crucial turning points
The critical points will unfold over the next two to four weeks, says Sonali Ranade COLUMN: The hype over Gujarat's economic performance
Gujarat's so-called superior performance, relative to its own history, and its present peer group, is being used to assiduously promote a personality cult around Modi together with a fascist ideology, say Sonali Ranade and Shaelja Sharma COLUMN: Is this why DMK supported Pranab Mukherjee?
The flow of funds to Kalignar TV begins on 23rd December 2008 and goes on till August 2009. The Finance Minister during that time was Pranab Mukherjee - the UPA's candidate for the post of Presidency. Sonia's carte blanche to PM; but hurdles still remain
While the signals of intent have already gone from North Block, the hiccups this time are coming from officials in the Finance Ministry, who had got used to a certain mindset. Market rally for risky assets not likely to last long
On the face of it, it is not advisable chase this rally, says Sonali Ranade A depreciating rupee is an opportunity, not weakness
All the opportunities available to China were also open to us. The need is for the government to set up the right incentives to make those opportunities profitable for the private sector, the rest will follow, says Sonali Ranade Column: Who benefits from REFORMS?
The next time you hear a call for "reform", it might be useful to ask, "For whose benefit is this reform?" Can the Centre solve states' debt crises?
West Bengal's demand for a moratorium on repayments to the Centre raises a whole slew of problems. Pranab or no Pranab - Why India will motor along
One of the primary contributors for many success stories has been the existence, functioning and domination of castes - yes castes - which urban Indian loves to hate, abuse and ridicule, writes M R Venkatesh. Hindutva is largely irrelevant to economic reforms
Hindutva is being conflated with good governance and economic performance in a determined bid to promote Narendra Modi, says Sonali Ranade COLUMN: How Pranab will be remembered as FM
For most of his first stint as finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee had Indira Gandhi as his prime minister. In his second stint, the prime minister was Manmohan Singh. How erratic monsoon spells trouble for Indian markets
Musings on the world market trends. Will Congress & BJP defend the honour of Rajiv Gandhi?
Are the political parties in India fooling us on the issue of illicit wealth parked abroad by winking at the obvious. Why Sanjay Gandhi forced SBI chairman to quit in 1976
The vignette that deserves a wider audience relates to Talwar's ouster. COLUMN: Degrowth: beyond Rio+20
The transition towards a degrowth society also requires a reexamination of the idea of democracy. Companies look for 'AQ' in leaders
Companies now look at the adversity quotient scores of their leaders. COLUMN: Why economic reforms face political hurdles?
Indian governments enjoy brief periods of autonomy before politics take over. Reawaken India: It's time for overseas fund-raising
India's officialdom must turn to the diaspora to fund the economy's addiction to foreign money. COLUMN: What is Mamata Banerjee's real problem?
The single factor that can help West Bengal to tackle its debt crisis is private investment. How to rebuild India's economic story
The big domestic economic challenge today is the slowdown in growth and infrastructure investments. Victims of urbanisation: India, Indonesia and China
The island city of Indonesia serves as a grim reminder of the urban squalor that awaits most Asian cities. Why politicians love low-skilled jobs
Creating low-skilled jobs, the kind of jobs that almost anyone in a country can aspire to, is the real priority of any politician who has to face an electorate. COLUMN: The goals and challenges of Rio+20
The bad news about the environment far outweighs small advances that have been made. Restore confidence? Take ACTION on Dr Singh
While the middle class believes that while Dr Singh may not exactly be corrupt, they simultaneously also perceive that the best bet for anyone to loot and scoot in India is while he continues to be around. There's some good news in the Indian economy
It would be foolish to deny that some of the increased spending by governments (Centre and states) is showing up in better numbers. Govt's austerity? It's a big JOKE
The government will get away with it, because of our perennial confusion between public and personal austerity, and our jaw-dropping incompetence with simple mathematics. COLUMN: Why one should invest in stocks now
Given the all-pervasive air of negativity hanging over the country, it is tempting to try and construct a contrarian viewpoint Infrastructure's biggest enemy? The government
Ask any infrastructure developer and he will tell you that the biggest risk factor is the government itself. Individual brilliance and collective productivity
We have not yet internalised the need for reliability in our schema to emerge as an industrial society, says Sonali Ranade Indian economy: Is there a silver lining?
As the storm clouds gather over the economy, is there a silver lining? Yes more than one. To see them, we have to stop looking in the rear-view mirror at all the accumulated problems and negative trends, and focus on current trends. The West moves to revive manufacturing. Why won't India?
The United States does not stand alone in reassessing how government interacts with manufacturing. Across the developed world, only Westminster's Conservatives, the last lovers of finance, continue to be without an industrial policy. Lessons for RBI and government from current crisis
We are still in love with the idea of a strong rupee, not realising how much it hurts our poor people and the farmers, says Sonali Ranade COLUMN: Pirate Party and Freedom
The Pirate Party is fighting to retain the right to privacy and the right to communicate freely via e-mail, telephone or letters. Rescuing the rupee: What can be done
'Well, what can be done now, when the economy is tanking? 'Austerity', the officials cry. That would be fine, but austerity by whom? Normally, the answer is: Belt-tightening by the common man (Indians already pay some of the highest prices in the world for petroleum products, and a lot of that is punitive taxes), but ostentatious spending and extravagance by the political classes and their cronies,' says Rajeev Srinivasan. Air India's rich 'workmen'
At the heart of the national carrier's troubles are the archaic labour laws that allow pilots the same rights as industrial workers The saga of the rupee and why it is falling
The proximate cause is the Budget, with its Black-Swan event of a 50-year rollback and retroactive taxation of deals. This strengthens the notion that India is still a Banana Republic, says rajeev Srinivasan. COLUMN: The 'rights' and 'wrongs' of a controversial Bill
The Supreme Court denies the Copyright Board the power to grant temporary licences. COLUMN: What is India's real growth potential?
The nine per cent growth of United Progressive Alliance-I was an aberration. How India can curb the menace of black money
The true lesson of the White Paper should be that there are no quick fixes for what has been a major scourge of the Indian economy for several decades. COLUMN: It's not Greek, Mr Mukherjee
There hasn't been a single confidence boosting measure by the government in the recent years. COLUMN: The exchange rate: economics bites back
After the presentation of the Union Budget in mid-March, the rupee has been again jittery and anaemic, dropping to an all-time low of 54.9 on May 18, raising serious concerns in both the media and Parliament. COLUMN: Why the rupee is likely to hit 60/UD$
The sharp and sudden fall in the exchange rate of the Indian currency in relation to the American greenback has taken many by surprise. Weak rupee: How India can stabilise its BoP situation
Near-term movements of INR will continue to be shaped by the capital flows situation, which in turn will be influenced by developments in Europe. Column: Why the rupee is on a freefall
Rupee is well on its way to touching Rs 55 against the dollar. Why Indian private equity is at the crossroads
The evolution of the PE market against the backdrop of the strong growth in the economy should translate into strong returns for investors. Understanding India's stagflation
The only response from the government so far has been a 20 pc devaluation of the Rupee by stealth. In a roundabout way, this is the price we must all pay for as a tax on wealth, says Sonali Ranade Are Indian MNCs ahead of the domestic economy?
The Indian School of Business, in co-operation with a Brazilian counterpart, has constructed a transnational index to rank Indian multinationals and thereby gain available insights. COLUMN: Why drought reigns eternal in India
Each year, first we have crippling droughts between December and June, and then devastating floods in the next few months. COLUMN: Celebrating water traditions
The main reasons for water scarcity are wastage, pollution and unsustainable management. Are FM's changes to the Budget necessary?
It has become clear that many things were wrong with the taxation proposals made in the 2012-13 Budget. In attempting to fix the fiscal deficit, the government decided it was necessary to increase the tax base. Is the euro going down?
Ever since the European sovereign debt crisis first came into sharp focus in late 2009, talk about "the end of the euro" has been going on and off. How the new policy will affect telecom sector
The 2G judgment and Trai spectrum pricing have led to a policy that makes sense for only one survivor. What is the new normal for growth?
The RBI has benchmarked trend growth at 7.5 per cent. That means India's potential has declined. Column: Almost nothing is right with Obama and America
The growing weakness of the US economy means re-election is getting tougher for Barack Obama. January - April 2012 | August - December 2011 | April - July 2011 | January - March 2011 | October - December 2010 | August - September 2010 | May - July 2010 | February 2010 | March 2010 | April 2010