Two years ago, India was touted as a rare bright spot in a gloomy global economy with GDP growth outpacing a slowing China.
What will the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government do to answer the queries and fears of investors who will want to be doubly sure they would not be harassed at a later date, as has been happening to Sterlite, should be interesting to watch, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Jonathan Garner, chief Asia and emerging markets equity strategist, Morgan Stanley, gives Samie Modak his assessment of the Indian economy after 3 years of Modi Sarkar.
The Budget has unveiled measures that should now pave the way for India to progress from Make in India to 'Innovate in India'.
Let's take a look at the doomsday scenarios:
'We have often heard the mythical argument that patents block access to life-saving drugs, but only 5% of medicines from multinational companies are under patent protection in India.' 'Where these patented products are beyond the reach of Indian patients, the companies have programmes to facilitate access to their drugs, for free or for a fraction of the price,' points out Ranjana Smetacek, former director general, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India.
'India has the potential to reduce its trade deficit with China by $8.4 billion in FY21.'
The Rs 3-trillion West Coast or Nanar refinery has all the potential to become India's flagship petrochemicals project, with the planet's largest oil producer Saudi Aramco as its biggest shareholder. Yet the locals don't see the plant as a harbinger of better times.
'Chinese experts estimate that the new US administration is 'at the crossroads of how to re-manage and control' Sino-American differences and strategic divergences and Biden's bottom line is that the US would have 'extreme competition with China, but won't allow competition to develop into conflict',' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Indian elections are won and lost on 'negative' imageries and campaigns - but not certainly on 'negativity' as a political trait and electoral creed, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
According to ICRA, even in a high-growth scenario, wherein the second half of FY20 sees the incremental bank credit rise to Rs 6.5-7 trn, there will still be a 40-45% year-on-year decline.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a climate deal between the United States and China does not put pressure on India, but that global warming itself was reason to take action.
Thus, the right to fair compensation and transparency in land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement (amendment) bill, 2015 as passed by the Lok Sabha still contains major lacuna's in regard to farmer's rights. It is best advised and hoped that the government will send the bill to the parliamentary standing committee for more changes and consultation.
India's former mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton revealed how Gautam Gambhir, despite being one of the finest Indian batsmen of his time, was perhaps also 'one of the weakest and mentally most insecured'.
'One of the ways to do that is to ensure that NBFCs have got liquidity.' 'If we don't do that, this mood of gloom will continue.' NBFCs need to be provided with liquidity if they have to start lending.
We should be ready beforehand and I agree that if we have to go for alliances then the formalities of those alliances should be completed as soon as possible
Under new government, tax office to explore ways to reduce disputes.
Don't be led by emotions while self-introspection your efforts, but get a grip on the facts, says Suhita Saha.
Bankers said fear of loan losses impairing their careers could make officers wary of sanctioning new loan proposals on their own.
'The prospect is of a self-confident and self-sustaining India will make it a more effective player in the global arena,' External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar points out delivering the Sardar Patel Lecture-2020: India and the Post-Covid World.
Alibaba's pervasive economic and social influence in China is seen as a threat to the authority of the Chinese Communist party, notes Shyam Saran.
India's national security strategy needs to be revised periodically since the global and regional geopolitical situation is dynamic, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Buffeted by allegations of sexual harassment, R K Pachauri on Tuesday quit as chairman of United Nation's prestigious Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose meeting here he has avoided.
Volunteers dressed as clowns visit hospitals and old-age homes to spread cheer and dispel the gloom of ill health and old age.
In the concluding part of the series, Y V Reddy, argues that the proposal strikes at the functioning of federalism and the basic structure of the Constitution, which has served us well so far.
'You can still acquire the COVID-19 virus even if you are vaccinated.' 'But if you develop the disease, (after being vaccinated) the likelihood is that it will be mild.' 'It just makes sense to continue to take precautions, because you may be around a lot of unvaccinated people.'
The IOC will hold discussions that will include an option of putting back the July 24 start date or even moving the Games by a year or more due to the global coronavirus outbreak, but said cancelling the Games would not solve problems or help anybody. They have raised several issues in the past week with the IOC, including athletes' inability to prepare due to restrictions caused by the virus and their overall safety.
Take a call to stay put or opt our based on whether you think the company will be able to find a strategic investor, suggests Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Of the seven surveys presented under Modi govt, predictions of three were quite close to the actual GDP growth rate, one saw the base year change in between, but the last three were way off the mark.
In this weekly self-help series, mental health and life coach Anu Krishna tells you how to take control of your life.
The Supreme Court has directed a series of actions to clean the Taj, including bringing in compressed natural gas (CNG) to replace dirty coal.
The study points out that for the determination of growth and investment at the macroeconomic level, the real interest rate is more relevant, even though the nominal interest rate is important for investment planning at the firm level.
Banning meat is cruel demonetisation. It is stealing from the poor, nothing less, writes Sunita Narain.
Firm to continue to press ahead with arbitration challenging new law on the tax, will seek $1 bn in damages
The Land Acquisition Bill, passed by Parliament last month, will either make projects unviable or expensive for large infrastructure or real estate projects.
Sanjay Mookim, India equity strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, tells Puneet Wadhwa that this is not a time for investors to dabble in relatively small and illiquid stocks.
Leading British-Indian MP Keith Vaz on Tuesday took his fight against the European Union's impending ban on the import of Indian mangoes to the Prime Minister's office in London.
Tata companies perform well while major firms in emerging markets do badly.
Fitch said the full implications of Patel's resignation will only become clearer once there is some indication of the RBI's policy approach under his replacement, Shaktikanta Das
'Tiger reserves were created to protect areas from developmental activities.' 'If we go ahead with these projects, then it is a complete mockery of our institutions and our laws, it is against everything we have stood for, our Forest Conservation Act, our Wildlife Biodiversity Act.'
