A newspaper report suggests that the left parties suggestions on how to restrict large format retail stores are being worked upon by various government agencies and that it is only a matter of time

No idea left behind

Business Standard

The success of the DLF IPO, which was oversubscribed nearly 3.5 times, should give confidence to merchant bankers and companies that want to raise money in the capital market. DLF has raised Rs 9,000

IPO rush

On the face of it, the information and broadcasting ministrys proposal to ask television channels to appoint auditors is a good one. It keeps the government off the channels backs, and there will

Audit thyself

After the resounding success of ipod, sales of which have crossed the 100 million mark, everyone started asking why Apple was not bundling a phone with it to compete with other multimedia phones. The

Call for an Apple

What is it about Indian politicians that, more often than not, they act with scant regard for dignitynot just their own but of the citizen, the government, and the state? It does not seem to occur to

Some dignity, please

There had been a remarkable phenomenon in colonial India that has not been focused upon or researched adequatelyeducational institutions that acquired brand value because almost invariably they were

Brands in higher education

Another attemptthe fifthto breathe life into the Doha Round of trade talks has failed. The effort lasted just about 24 hoursit started on Sunday and ended on Monday. The round has now been

Doha Round, RIP?

In less than a year, software leader Infosys Technologies has seen two major changes at the top. S Gopalakrishnan has just stepped into the shoes of Nandan Nilekani as CEO. Mr Nilekani had last August

Issues before Infosys

Little would Pratibha Patil have thought when she was suddenly nominated as the UPA candidate to become the President of India that those who would wear the crown first have to make sure that there

Let the inner voice speak

The market is the most efficient allocator of resources, though not the most humane. Every civilised society is therefore forced to tinker with its perfection. The trick to a successful

Pricing mismanagement

Tony Blair came in with a bang. But he has gone with something of a whimper. Most Britons seem relieved that he has gone, and many think he stayed at least a year too long. His record will inevitably

A matter of trust

The Maoist challenge gets ever more serious. Across a broad swathe in southern, central and eastern India, spanning half a dozen states including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand, it

The Maoists get bolder

The pricing of gas has become one of the most important economic questions before the government, since it has implications for future energy scenarios. Gas, after all, is the fastest growing source

A lot of gas

Indian businesses are witnessing a wave of consolidation across a swathe of sectors, including aviation, telecom and business process outsourcing (BPO). While there have been quite a few mergers and

Consolidation phase

Given the stiff opposition he faced from the existing mobile phone service providers, Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran deserves to be congratulated on his decision to auction 3G spectrum. The

Good call

The environment and forest ministry is reported to have firmed up a proposal to lease wasteland to private entrepreneurs with a view to using private investment to achieve its target of extending the

Sound on paper

With climate change experts huddled in Bangkok over global warming, India is finally forming an experts committee that will look into this issue. The panel should have already been in place, given the

Climate warnings

The utterly villainous killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bano on November 22, 2005, by policemenIPS officers, mind, not just some low-ranking functionariesis one more in the long

Time for raj dharma

As admissions go, the Prime Ministers statement about crony capitalism on Tuesday ranks on a par with that by the national security advisor last year on how large swathes of the country were

Saying it is not enough

With the Reserve Bank being forced to give up its old policy of buying up dollars in its effort to hold down the exchange value of the rupee, all economic players in the country have now to reckon

Protecting the `real` sector

Time Magazine's list of the most influential people in the world today has Sonia Gandhi, Indra Nooyi, Lakshmi Mittal and Osama bin Laden on it, but not President George W Bush of the United States.

Influential list?

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

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