Intelligence agencies sometimes use kosher firms that they own, even if at arms length, for covert operations. So security agencies have been saying for some time now that they are worried about the

Setting off another hare

Business Standard

Perhaps it was the opposition from other segments of the government, such as the health and finance ministries, that got Chemicals Minister Ram Vilas Paswan to drop his plan to introduce a new slew of

Right dose, finally

Given his remarkable success in getting through the policy for special economic zones (SEZ) despite the finance ministrys strenuous objections, it is likely that Commerce Minister Kamal Nath will be

Cost the benefits

If N R Narayana Murthy had simply led and built such an extraordinarily successful company as Infosys Technologies then that itself would have been enough to put his name in the history books. For,

Mr Murthy`s next innings

When the move to amend the Essential Commodities (EC) Act, 1955, was initiated, there was hope that it would lead to further liberalisation of the restrictive provisions of the original statute. But

A retrograde move

Though most marketers have a way of focusing on the headline numbers, as the recent reports of Indicus Analytics The Market Skyline of India 2006 show, this can be quite misleading. The Mumbai

Behind the numbers

An abscess that has been festering under the surface of international cricket has begun to break open its skin. This is the widespread perception amongst the players in the non-White cricket-playing

In ICC`s court

Despite familial and societal restrictions, Indian women executives can perform better than their western counterparts.


T Thomas: Rise of Women CEOs in Indian industry

Everyone loves a fast train. And if the bullet train has done much to connect Japan and also yield powerful images of a country on the move, there might be reason for India to think of doing the same.

The test of numbers

On the face of it, the proposal being discussed by the Prime Ministers trade and economic relations committee, to come up with a comprehensive outward investment policy, has its attractions. Such a

Tread carefully

The finance minister recently said that the government is planning to appoint regulators for aviation, railways and petroleum. Hopefully, this will be done soon, because all the sectors he mentioned

A separate function

Back in 1994, the health secretary of Bihar was slapped repeatedly in his office by an RJD MLA because he refused to lower the standards for admission to a medical college for the benefit of the MLAs

Will it work?

It is now reasonably certain that the government will not have enough 3G spectrum to satisfy the initial needs of more than four or five mobile phone companies. This is a compelling reason for

Go for global bids

Mukesh Ambanis ultra-ambitious plans for a retail venture involving a total investment of Rs 25,000 crore, are on a scale that match what he had intended for his telecom venture, and comparable also

Ambitious thinking

The long-pending South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) pact finally came into force on July 1, sans fanfare. That should cause no surprise, since none of the seven countries (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,

Not a free trade area

There is an expressive saying in Hindi, <I>Jo jita woh Sikandar.</I> Roughly translated, it means that only winning matters and the winner is then automatically invested with all possible virtues.

Joining the pantheon

A Prime Minister hemmed in on every side, by his party colleagues and by their coalition partners, should ask himself what he is doing at the head of the UPA government. It is clear that the political

Why stay on?

Before examining the merits and demerits of the actions of the two antagonists in the AIIMS face-offHealth Minister A Ramadoss and the former AIIMS director, P Venugopalcertain realities need to be

Crippling AIIMS

The head of any organisation, if he is to be effective, should have the freedom to pick his team. That freedom is rarely if ever absolute; usually there are several constraints that operatein

The sources of `weakness`

The dreaded bird flu, which struck the country in February, may have been controlled and contained in the Navapur and Jalgaon belts, but that does not guarantee that it will not make its appearance

Preparing for the flu

What is it about the FIFA World Cup football tournament that convulses even non-football fans for one month every four years? What is it that brings in consolidated TV-viewing figures of a stupendous

A money machine

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 290 - Editorial Comment