Liquidity in the money markets has improved substantially in the last few days, and call money rates are back to levels near the reverse repo rate. Banks have once again started parking surplus funds

Action replay?

Business Standard

If theres one thing that Reliance group shareholders can take comfort from, its that even at the height of the battle for control between its promoters, the groups ability to get a more than fair

Tap on the wrist

It is difficult to reconcile the governments exhortation to people to pay their taxes with its proposal to come up with yet another black money scheme. 


A bad idea

The hike in freight rates for several commodities announced by the railways last week was, on the face of it, a reasonable response to the escalating prices of two of its key inputsenergy and steel.

Clogged arteries

The second quarter results declared by the IT services majors have been extremely positive so far. Coming at a time when the debate over outsourcing has become an issue in the US presidential poll,

Infotech cheer

There was, on the one hand, the extraordinarily poor governance provided by the Congress alliance. And there was, on the other, the BJP-Shiv Sena's debacle in the general election of April-May. 


As expected

The guidelines announced last week on the broadband policy are unfortunate as they do little to enhance the countrys broadband capacity that, according to a CII position paper, can yield an

Narrowband policy

The first task of the new government in Maharashtra will be to put the states finances in order. Simply put, the states finances are a mess, with debt touching Rs 93,000 crore, or 25 per cent of the

State finances

There is an old Beatles song that goes, When in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me. The BJP is like that. When in times of trouble, L K Advani comes to it. 


The old faithful

Overturning the orders of the market regulator, or substantially altering them, appears to have become a habit with the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). 


Time for a rethink

In the beginning there was the EEC. Then there was the EC. Asean was invented soon thereafter. Then, partly in response, came Nafta (the North American Free Trade Association). 


First things first

A fall in the prices of agro-commodities around harvest-time is not unusual. Nor is a knee-jerk reaction from the government by way of market intervention or import curbs. Much the same is happening

Commodity activism

It is easy to believe that the real cost of running public sector undertakings (PSUs) is the losses they incur. 


Costly containers

The Washington Fund Bank meetings earlier this month were the first after 60 years since the Bretton Woods conference that gave birth to both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the

A V Rajwade: The 60-year-old twins

Its no surprise that the non-performing assets (NPAs) of housing finance companies (HFCs) are on the rise. A recent news report, based on a sample of 17 HFCs, puts the average net NPAs at 2.4 per

Challenge for HFCs

It is of course obligatory for Communists to take the side of workers when it comes to a confrontation with capitalists. But what is the choice the Left makes when the trade-off is between consumers

Kolkata club

<B>Saumitra Chaudhuri</B><BR>Economic Advisor<BR>ICRA Limited 


Should sick PSUs be closed?

The Reserve Bank of Indias mid-term review of monetary policy marks a subtle but firm change in the central banks stance on interest rates. Earlier, the RBI had shown a marked reluctance to raise

Change of stance

The Indian patent regime will undergo seminal change if the country manages to meet the January 1 deadline set under the TRIPS (trade related intellectual property rights) agreement to switch over to

Don't trip on patents

The corporate results season is almost over, and there are more than enough clues to detect the winds of change blowing across India Inc. The interest rate cycle has turned, with the result that

Next turn in the cycle

The telecom regulators (Trai) latest consultation paper on increasing teledensity in rural areas is welcome. It points out that, in the period since the private sector was allowed into this area,

Well-intentioned

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 317 - Editorial Comment