The new Direct Taxes Code has been put in the public domain and will most likely be up for debate in the monsoon session of Parliament.
It is not easy being a Congressman these days. In the good old days, the commands to be followed flew from one source. Genuflection was easy. Today, there are at least two major sources of political power in India, mother Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul Gandhi.
BCCI has become the world's fattest cricketing body, and in the wake of the IPL scam, the pertinent question is: what should the Government of India do to make the right the several wrongs of the past? That is not possible.
Even if you raise the poverty line as much as the Expert Group does, it turns out just 11 per cent of Indians are poor, not 37 per cent -- that's a huge poverty of estimation.
China and India are on different sides of the climate debate and, after the United States, Beijing has to make the most cuts.
When it comes to climate, change and promise may only be in the eyes of the beholder.
There is as much difference between the LeT and Maoists as between the Al-Qaeda and Naxalites
An economist's steering hand is visible; Budget 2009/10 has a well thought-out reformist touch.
While the government, and market, looks at the year-on-year data for GDP growth of 6.8 per cent, in reality the economy has been growing at only a 4.5 per cent pace (GDP factor cost data).
The Authorities need to realise that a major problem facing this economy, and the world, is deflation, NOT inflation.
2008 was a study in surprises, but that fact seems to have launched a barrage of commentary that borders precipitously on doom-mongering.
The war against terror needs a fundamental change in attitudes on the part of the Indian media, politicians and government.
Contrary to fiscal terrorists, India has a lot of room for fiscal expansion in infrastructure and low-cost housing.
With an Obama election, America should reclaim its status as the most desirable country other than one's own
Not all stairways go to heaven; not all forecasts based on fundamentals come true, e.g. the Indian rupee at 33/$ and oil at $200/barrel?
That panic has set in among policy makers is suggestive of the worst being over in global inflation.
The world financial markets were close to breakdown just a month or so ago. While the rest of the world's central banks missed the big picture, not so the US Fed led by Prof. Ben Bernanke. His timely interventions, and a worldview of what works and what does not, has most likely helped avert a global financial meltdown; if such a meltdown had occurred, it would have affected all of us quite severely.
Data for more than 100 countries over 47 years shows little sign that currency appreciation causes a dent in inflation levels.
Everyone, from investment banks to economists, are speculating about the GDP growth rate. Such speculation is often followed by herd mentality. Everybody is a big bear these days. Everyone is predicting a US recession that will last much more than six months. But large parts of the world are yet to show any significant deceleration in GDP growth in response to the US slowdown. Another useful statistic is the changing share in world GDP growth, in US dollars, of India & China.
The amount of loans to small and marginal farmers that commercial banks, cooperatives and regional rural banks have been asked to waive is likely to be slightly over Rs 23,000 crore (Rs 230 billion), less than half that estimated by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his Budget speech. The share of this due to commercial banks is probably around Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) the total overdue from all farmers to commercial banks is around Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion).
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