The Haryana police and the district administration of Gurgaon have only themselves to blame for the crisis that has visited the whole area. The potential fallout of what began as an industrial dispute

Uniformed lawlessness

Business Standard

While industry has managed to grow at a steady pace for the past year and more, it was always obvious that the infrastructure constraint would begin to bite before long, and the latest numbers on the

Core concerns

If there is one item of mass consumption where third-party quality assurance is vital, it is without doubt gold. Unfortunately, the infrastructure for providing such a guarantee through the assaying

Hallmarking gold

It has taken more than 15 years for the countrys legal system to deliver judgment on a case that accused the Hindujas and Bofors of entering into a conspiracy to cheat the Indian government in the Rs

Not an acquittal

The final fiscal numbers for 2004-05 show that the fiscal deficit was 4.1 per cent of GDP, appreciably below the revised estimates of 4.5 per cent presented by the finance minister in February. 


Positive surprise

While negotiations on trade in agriculture, held under the aegis of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), have made some headway, this has not been the case with trade in services. 


Slow movement

There is growing speculation about a Cabinet reshuffle. Given the limited room for manoeuvre that a coalition leader has, the Delhi fever on the subject is quite unwarranted because any reshuffle is

Shuffling the pack

The Maharashtra governments decision to allow contract farming, involving purchase of farm produce by corporate houses directly from farmers, formalises what has already been taking place in this and

Contract farming

The rise in Corporate Indias interest costs in the fourth quarter of FY 2005, after falling for 13 quarters, should normally be reason for concern. 


Breathe easy

A significant reform measure in the financial sector was the reduction of the interest rate on small savings (post office savings, public provident fund accounts, National Savings Certificates and

Heavy hand on savings

The Reliance episode raised three sets of issues. One was about how the Reliance businesses were to be run, and by whom. The second concerned ownership of the enterprise. And finally, there were the

The Reliance split

With the ministry of finance raising questions on the planned purchase by Indian Airlines of 43 Airbus A-320s for Rs 9,475 crore, it is almost certain the aircraft will not be available in a hurry. 


Delayed flight

The Planning Commissions devastating evaluation of the targeted public distribution system (TPDS) has once again exposed the shocking inefficiencies of this mammoth government-run network in

Targeting waste

Perhaps the most striking feature about the current run up the stock market charts has been the diffident tone of market participants, with many of them grumbling that the rally lacks confidence. 


What price buoyancy?

The most telling comment on the increase in oil prices, announced at long last by the government on Monday, is provided by the movement of the IOC stock price, which fell on Monday as well as Tuesday,

Oil the machine

The Expert Group on Investment Credit in Agriculture has submitted its report. The committees main task was to find ways to ensure that the governments target of doubling credit to the agricultural

New approaches

The issue of security at Indias mushrooming BPO firms will not go away in a hurry. There are too many interests at stake and those in the west against jobs migrating out will try every means possible

Now get the law

The decision by the Left parties to suspend their participation in the co-ordination process set up by the UPA coalition is by far the most obstructionist move made by the group. 


Call the bluff

The signing of a memorandum of understanding between the government of Orissa and Korean steel leader Posco, to set up a 12-million-tonne steel plant in the state, marks the largest foreign investment

Cause for celebration

The commodity exchanges may have begun attracting large volumes of business, but they are yet to acquire the efficiency and sophistication displayed by the stock markets. A recent study by the

Not by auto-pilot

Necessity is the mother not just of invention but also innovation. And so, with one-day cricket having become predictable in its tactics and therefore less interesting, this 35-year-old version of the

Cricket in transition

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 360 - Editorial Comment