India tries to change the game on climate change

Carbon tax facts

Business Standard

Finance minister right to call for political consensus on reform

The way forward

The reason bids in spectrum auction are so high

Artificial scarcity

Why has Budget retained Plan spending distinction?

Unplanned Plan

Ban on 'India's Daughter' has hurt India's reputation

Making a martyr

State taking most of the risk in shared projects is undesirable

PPP problems

The media must guard its reputation more carefully

The virtue of self-control

Draconian measures on black money a problem

The wrong approach

Questions over the magnitude of the rate cut

RBI's monetary response

Budget has succeeded in keeping market mood positive

Sentiment success

Setting goals

What the Budget has for banks and regulators

Reworking the financial sector

Signs of change in the BJP's approach to its core issues

The benefits of power

Missing farm focus

Clarity needed on the plan to reduce corporation tax

Wanted: a time frame

Arun Jaitley had a difficult job to do, and he has coped well. He has met his headline target of restricting the fiscal deficit for the year that is about to close, to 4.1 per cent, despite massive shortfalls in tax revenue and disinvestment proceeds. His answer has been ruthless cutting of expenditure - mostly money that should have gone to states for social expenditure programmes. As for next year, the Finance Commission took away a sizeable chunk of money and gave it to states - the total devolution of central funds to states has gone up from 5.4 per cent of GDP in 2013-14 to a budgeted seven per cent in 2015-16. Despite this very substantial loss of fiscal space, the central deficit is to come down by 0.6 per cent of GDP (from 4.5 per cent to 3.9 per cent) over the first two years of the Modi government. If one assumes no other changes in state finances, then the combined deficit of the central and state governments would have dropped over these two years from seven per cent of GDP

Coping under pressure

The real way to have security in ministries

Less paper, please

The right track

Swine flu could be controlled with government action

Prevent an epidemic

Deregulate e-commerce, and see ancillary benefits

Free the clicks

A new plan for gas

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 204 - Editorial Comment