Hindutva was arguably one of the big political ideas of the 1990s. The Bharatiya Janata Party may have begun nurturing it earlier, but it was only during the last decade of the 20th century that the idea manifested itself as a powerful concept to earn for its practitioners rich electoral dividends.
Although Mamata Banerjee's white paper points out areas of concern, it lacks the courage to confront them, says A K Bhattacharya.
Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram's reply last week to the debate in Parliament on the Liberhan Commission's report would largely be seen as the United Progressive Alliance government's comprehensive indictment of the role of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its leaders in the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
The first decade of the 21st century is about to end. It is difficult to encompass a decade's major trends and developments in a short essay. However, it would be instructive to recall a few of them. Globally, the decade began with the breakdown of trust in corporate governance. Corporate scandals and acts of malfeasance that may have been kept hidden from public gaze in all the previous decades came tumbling out of the cupboard as the first decade of the 21st century began.
Going by available indications from North Block, Mr Mukherjee may like to do a Chidambaram when he presents the Revised Estimates on February 27, 2010
Only strategic sales can serve the purpose of disinvestment, by freeing PSUs from govt control.
Indian government officials declined to comment on whether India had fallen in line with the US prescription, which was likely to be made part of the G-20 declaration at the end of the Summit that began in Pittsburgh on Friday.
Will the secondary school system be able to produce teachers competent to carry out and monitor the new assessment system? asks A K Bhattacharya.
A relevant question that needs to be answered is what actually triggered the Manmohan Singh government's austerity move?
Are we then seeing a new phase of dynastic politics in the Congress? Yes, sons and daughters will get a preferred treatment in the political party of their parents. But that preferred treatment will not guarantee succession immediately after the parent disappears from the scene. Instead, sons and daughters will have to learn to wait and go through a period of political apprenticeship before becoming ready to take on leadership roles.
Bureaucrats taking up private jobs is another kind of Public Private Partnership, one that needs careful handling.
The high deficit was bad enough, Parliament's standing committees won't be scrutinising budget proposals either.
It is clear that the final phase of Sreedharan's career may have to pay a lot more attention to undoing the damage caused by the accident that took place on his 77th birthday.
He's the first finance minister to present Budgets on either side of an election and the first to do so after a quarter-century gap.
An intense debate is taking place within the finance ministry over a proposal to reintroduce investment allowance for companies implementing new projects or creating productive assets to expand their businesses.
Giving extensions to secretaries after fixing their tenure is unfair to the rest.
May dilute stakes in PSUs to 90% instead of big-bang approach
The divestment plan can be prepared now, but its execution should wait for a politically opportune time.
The government has not taken any decision on the communications ministry's proposal for appointing the next chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
Unlike other government projects, most funds under MPLADS get spent - now to see if they're well-spent.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances