The corporate big-wigs gathered in Davos, for the 44th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting said investors, corporate boards, business schools and accounting rules must change to de-emphasise short-term financial performance.
Reminiscent of the past two years, the market has made positive strides ahead of the Union Budget 2023-24 (FY24). The benchmark National Stock Exchange Nifty has gained 1.8 per cent in the last month. Typically, markets tend to gain ahead of the Budget as investors build in optimism.
Brand India's societal divisions and distortions have remained as much relevant in 'liberal' America and Europe as it still is in the structurally stratified Indian society of the 21st century, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'People understand Hitlershahi, tanashahi and now Modishahi.'
This perversity in vaccine distribution needs immediate correction. It requires a complete withdrawal of the 'Liberalised Vaccine Policy', and a 100 per cent takeover of the vaccine procurement by the GoI, asserts R Ramakumar.
Indian economy, dubbed the fastest growing major economy in the world, is faced with the single most important pressure point of job creation, says former RBI Governor Raghuram G Ranjan as he makes a strong case for improvement of human capital through skill development. Talking about the book 'Breaking the mould: Reimagining India's economic future', written jointly by him and Rohit Lamba, assistant professor of economics at Pennsylvania State University, Rajan said one of the greatest strength of India is its human capital of 1.4 billion and the question is "how do you make it strong?" The nation needs to create jobs at every level going along the path of development, said Rajan, presently Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth, USA.
'The BJP is trying to change this mantra.'
There will be a dramatic alteration in the role the Centre and the states will play to shape India's fiscal and economic destiny, report Nitin Sethi and Ishan Bakshi.
One hopes in his next term, Narendra Modi will take up the mission of inculcating respect for following rules in Indians as a mission. Therein lies the chance for India to become a developed country, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'While the poor have little say in shaping India's intellectual or public discourse, they do have a significant role in deciding political outcomes,' points out Roshan Kishore.
A customer wanting to buy a car would have to wait a long time for delivery.
'There is no scope for any doubt. This was a scheme designed to enrich the ruling party.'
Over 15 years, with seven per cent growth, the Indian economy will be three times bigger.
'Tens of millions will be working from home for months at a time, which means the smartest brains in business will be focussed on creating more efficient WFH processes,' predicts Devangshu Datta.
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Does anyone understand India?' 'Does anyone have a larger perspective for India as a whole?' 'Today we have rulers who do not understand the ruled.'
Sharma was the president of the conference, the first since the Paris Agreement of COP21 that expected parties to make enhanced commitments towards mitigating climate change.
'Now they're talking about changing the Constitution; they feel they have no reason now to hide their intentions.'
A bit of economic reforms stalled and decisions delayed -- what Narayana Murthy spoke of -- don't hurt if a country's compassionate and inclusive social fabric has survived intact; if the country is happy, observes Shyam G Menon.
'Most students find it difficult to cope with the way they are expected to learn at the IITs.' 'So, all the students face the same stress.' 'But those students who are mentally weak are more affected.'
Those who worry that the Adani saga will turn the world off India are not looking at the entire picture, asserts Mihir S Sharma.
The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday announced to change its existing five-day workweek to a four-and-a-half day starting January 1, becoming the world's first country to make the employee-friendly transition as part of its efforts to improve productivity and work-life balance. According to the new schedule, Monday to Thursday the work timings would be from 7.30 am to 3.30 pm, followed by a half day on Friday from 7.30 am to 12.00 pm, said the UAE Government Media Office. Saturdays and Sundays are full-day holidays under the new rule.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'...it gets a survey report that they are going to lose elections.' 'The fear of losing elections will make them immediately conduct a caste census.'
The Lok Sabha contest in Thiruvananthapuram is shaping up to be a significant battle involving key candidates like Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Panniyan Ravindran. This three-cornered fight highlights the political dynamics in Kerala's capital city, with each candidate bringing their own vision and promises for the region's development, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
Zuckerberg will be in India on October 28.
India is likely to become a $40 trillion economy by 2047 -- a 13-fold jump from its current size -- driven primarily by a clean energy revolution and digitalisation, billionaire Mukesh Ambani said on Tuesday. Ambani's estimate for the Indian economy, currently the fifth largest in the world behind only the US, China, Japan and Germany, is more optimistic than Asia's richest man Gautam Adani, who last week stated that India will become a $30 trillion economy by 2050 on back of rising consumption and socio-economic reforms. "From a 3 trillion-dollar economy, India will grow to become a 40 trillion-dollar economy by 2047, ranking among the top three economies of the world," Ambani said at the 10th convocation of Pandit Deendayal Energy University in Gandhinagar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created a flutter with his first Independence Day speech. While diverted the national attention to social issues, Modi smartly avoided political traps.
'Narasimha Rao asked me why China was doing so well in attracting foreign investments and I gave my frank opinion.' 'I told him that giving thrust to exports had to be a national effort.' 'But in India, the system was very centralised in the Government of India and the state governments had no role to play.'
The next quarter-century could mark India's rise as a nation to be more whole-heartedly admired if it addresses its institutional and policy failures, and focuses on reducing its inequalities and addressing its iniquities, asserts T N Ninan.
More boys than girls with cancer in India are being diagnosed with the disease and the probable cause for this is gender bias in society, according to a study published in The Lancet Oncology.
'We've never really been in the situation of having a difficult time with the Chinese and an increasingly difficult time with the Russians along with a relationship with the Americans which is important.'
He also said that infrastructure development in the country in the last eight years has been done with a human touch.
Modi government has to come up with a robust economic agenda to impress the masses.
'There are many things we need to work on.' 'At the heart of it is, one, the extent of inequality, which is not good for democracy and nation; two, a structural decline on how a country ought to function, how people should be held accountable, whose role is what.'
In several areas, the Indian government has put out a model law.
Studies suggest net benefits of hydro-power, nuclear energy or natural gas as sources of electricity are greater than those of wind and solar.
Former President A P J Abdul Kalam kindly answered rediff.com's questions for an exclusive interview.
Columnist Rajni Bakshi asks if the louder responses to the climate crisis will be those arguing that innovations are viable only when they give handsome and rapid monetary returns?
Illustrious international thinkers met at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2021 and many discussions addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world at large.
