Does India have an unusually large chasm between its leaders and followers? So it would seem, judging by some recent multi-country surveys. For instance, Ipsos sought out elite opinion (mostly

Measuring satisfaction

Business Standard

One minister approves a massive order for new telecom equipment, placed by the countrys erstwhile telecom monopoly, but his successor comes along, raises a series of questions and the board of the

Ministerial whim

With a series of drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Authority (FDA) being recalled in recent times (e.g. Permax for treatment of Parkinsons, Zelnorm for Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and alerts

Drug warning

The government has reportedly done a review of Press Note 1 (which puts restraints on a foreign joint venture partner who wants to go ahead on his own in India), and decided that no change in the

Foreign Doubtful Investment

Two optimistic forecasts about the economy have been made in as many days. The Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council, under the chairmanship of the very experienced and careful C Rangarajan, has

Official optimism

This weekend, as the ordinary reader queues up to find out whether Harry Potter will finally defeat Lord Voldemort, the business-minded reader has a slightly different, if equally burning, question.

Rowling in money

The monetary situation is radically different today from what most people might have expected at the start of the financial year. Bank lending has shown virtually no growth so far (after surging 30

What price monetary policy?

In the Westminster model, which evolved in England evolved over 300 years, the head of state (king or queen) performs almost entirely a ceremonial role. Rarely is he or she called upon to act as a

Change of guard

The problem with the draft Broadcasting Services Regulations Bill is not in the way it defines inappropriate content (something that disturbs the public peace or threatens the security and integrity

To what purpose?

Is Indian agriculture showing signs of a revival after nearly a decade of being engulfed by crises? Even the question would have been scoffed at till recently, but now it needs to be addressed. At the

An agricultural recovery

Now that the inappropriately-named Interest Suspense Account (all incomes are deposited here, and it remains in suspense till it is credited in members accounts) has come to the rescue, and the

Suspension of interest

The chaos in Delhis road transport, which is largely privately operated, contrasts sharply with the efficiency with which the publicly-owned metro rail is being run. Had the latter not been there,

Catch RTA staff instead

Textile Minister Shankersinh Vaghelas disclosure that Indias textile exports fell short of the target by 36 per cent in the first quarter of the financial year has to be taken with a pinch of salt

Fixing the warp

All of India must have heaved a sigh of relief after the Australian authorities released on Friday the Indian doctor, Mohamed Haneef, after 25 days of custodial detention in Brisbane, where he had

Systems on test

Insofar as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been the prime movers behind the stock market surge of recent months, it is only to be expected that events overseas will immediately impact the

Nervous markets

The proposed buy-back of shares, and consequent increase in the foreign equity stake of Unilever in the newly re-named Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), is in keeping with the trend whereby multinational

Corporate moulting

The Indian Left, whether in the Congress or outside it, has fostered many myths that have eventually left the poor worse off because of the policies these myths generated. One of these myths was about

Barefoot bankers, anyone?

The GDP (gross domestic product) numbers for the last financial year have come in somewhat higher than expectedgrowing at 9.4 per cent, compared with the 9.2 per cent indicated in the advance

Record year; what next?

The suspension of Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and the secretary of the CPI(M) state committee, Pinarayi Vijayan, from the partys politburo conveys a strong and unequivocal message to

Old guard vs new

When Amit Mitra, Ficcis secretary-general, told this newspaper earlier this week that the CEOs pay will be determined by the market and if you pay lower than the market standard, the fellow will

Don`t sweat over salaries

A significant development in the financial markets over the past week was the decline of the call rate (for overnight money) to virtually nothing. In other words, the players in the call money market,

Swings in the money market

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 272 - Editorial Comment