<B>More independent company boards are the order of the day, but blind copying of western models will not help.</B> 

Can Clause 49 improve governance?

Business Standard

For those still not sure that the country is headed for elections ahead of the scheduled date in 2009, the governments decision to extend the populist National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme

Not a guarantee

Stock markets across the world have been on fire since the US Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate last month by 50 basis points, and thereby beat market expectations. The Fed chairman,

What now?

The issue of increasing inequality on the consequences of the economic policy trajectory has featured prominently in the public debate since the early 1990s. It came to a head during the general

Reforms and inequality

It is an established fact of political science that the proximity of elections and responsible behaviour by political parties are inversely related. Thus, the closer fresh elections appear to be, the

Errant behaviour

After 14 days of hard work in Mexico City, chess maestro Viswanathan Anand is entitled to a certain satisfaction. He has been crowned world champion (and received the attached prize money, $390,000,

King of chess

A sector that was to have created millions of new jobs in the country is reporting job losses before it even gets under way. Organised retail is still in its infancy  less than 4 per cent of the

Irrational campaign

While prospective investors in new retail chains are up against the odds in several states, those wanting to invest in primary level agricultural marketing may find the going easier. A clear

Private mandis welcome

What should the Government of India's stand be on the goings-on in Myanmar? Should it be supportive of the pro-democracy movement? Or, should it keep its counsel and hope for the best? There are no

A policy for Myanmar

The internal security situation in our country continues to remain a cause of concern for both the Central and state governments. I have often said that most of the challenges we face are at home.

Our real challenges lie at home

The congruence of labour and work force by itself does not guarantee elimination of poverty. 


Revisiting growth and employment

The uneasy relationship between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the ministry of finance in the conduct of monetary policy was in evidence again last week. On Friday, speaking to a gathering of

Here we go again

The irony was always striking: H D Deve Gowdas Janata Dal (Secular) tying up with what is in many peoples eyes an unsecular BJP, to form a government of breathtaking expediency. The deal was that

End of a coalition

Sonia Gandhi needs to be complimented for finally speaking out in unambiguous terms with regard to the issue that has kept the UPA government on the hop for the last few months  the civil nuclear

Sonia Gandhi speaks up

This is not the first year in which the long-range monsoon rainfall prediction of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has gone awry. Most years in the recent past have witnessed the same thing.

A question of competence

Just 3.4 per cent of those looking for white-collar jobs through a popular website in the country belong to the Other Backward Castes (OBCs); another 1 per cent belong to the Schedule Castes and

Caste in the job market

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and of Technology (IITs) that constantly moan about government interference as a barrier to growth and development may have an indigenous case study to the

An IIM shows the way

Indian cricket and the stock market both achieved new heights of performance last month. Since then, the cricketers have come back to their normal form  losing more than winning matches  but the

Giddy heights

From time immemorial, humans have laid a lot of store by sanctification and legitimisation. So no matter how good an idea is, it is nothing if not blessed; and no matter how bad an idea is, it will

Sanctifying global concerns

It should be a matter of the utmost concern that India has done so poorly on the removal of hunger in the near-decade to 2003. The latest numbers put out by the International Food Policy Research

Continuing hunger

Among all the indices that point to the overall economic tempo, the index of industrial production is the most important, for several reasons. The service sector is more than twice as large as

Up again

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 254 - Editorial Comment