The governments move to set up a national research centre on glaciology addresses an important concern, because it has been known for some time that many of the countrys major glaciers are shrinking

Disappearing glaciers

Business Standard

Thirteen of the 27 public sector banks, which account for three-fourths of the Indian banking industry, have brought down the level of their net non-performing assets (NPA) to less than 1 per cent of

Time for another VRS

Textbook macroeconomics defines crowding out as a situation in which high fiscal deficits, financed by borrowing, raise interest rates, which, in turn, deter private investment. In these days of

Crowding out

Floods are normally deemed to be natural disasters caused by excessive downpour, but this does not seem to be the story when it comes to the recent inundation of vast tracts of Gujarat, Maharashtra,

Man-made floods

South Korean steel-maker Poscos Indian executives are still hoping that, by March next year, they will get possession of the land promised by the Orissa government, and that the first phase of their

450 families

Since the debate on affirmative action began, this newspaper has carried several reports and analyses on this issue and all of them broadly made the same point: the problem lay in schooling, and not

Some respite

The government may have pronounced India to be free from the bird flu virus but the threat of its reappearance is far from over. The declaration is indeed based on the fact that no fresh case of the

Bird flu danger

The finance minister placed before Parliament on Friday his ministry's review of the state of public finances at the end of the first quarter. When the numbers were published a few weeks ago, they

Fiscal strain

The sharp differences of opinion between the Planning Commission and the finance ministry on the approach to the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, which have been playing out in the media over the last few

Needed: constructive debate

The Prime Ministers Independence Day pronouncements from the Red Fort are normally deemed sacrosanct. But if these are not implemented even by the next Independence Day, the pronouncements start

How not to function

Dealing with any kind of crisis is a two-pronged affair. Immediate relief needs to be provided to the victims so as to ensure survival. But, beyond that, systemic changes need to be implemented to

Structural solutions

The revealing graph published in yesterdays Smart Investor section of this newspaper provides food for thought about the apparent linkages between US and Indian monetary policy. In October 2004, the

Interest-ing differences

Yet another mini-ministerial meeting on the vexed WTO trade liberalisation talks, held in Geneva last week, has failed to end the impasse. This was as expected, considering the inadequate spadework

Another failure

When it comes to inflation, public perception is political reality. While the inflation rate as measured by the wholesale price index (WPI) has been steadily rising over the past few months, it

Inflation dilemmas

Almost exactly a year after the last one, a deluge has brought Mumbai to a standstill again, raising the question whether an entire year has been wasted. The truth is that the interregnum has not been

Empower Mumbai

Last week, the economic reforms agenda of the UPA government received a body blow from one of the alliance partners, the DMK. All this, while the Left parties were seen as the spoilers as far as

Keeping the faith

Space missions are inherently hazardous and failures are, therefore, not uncommon. But the crash of the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

Space trouble

The bomb blasts in Mumbai, which have taken a toll of nearly 200 lives, are numbing in their brutality, design and lethal execution. Tuesdays carnage, which is like a mini holocaust, establishes, if

Grit and discipline

The Cabinet has approved reverting to the use of jute bags for all packing of foodgrains and sugar, thus shutting out cheaper and more convenient plastic substitutes. That this has been done after

The ancien regime

At last count, over 42,000 bloggers on the Google-owned domain http://blogspot.com called themselves Indian. Typepad.com, another popular blog-hosting domain, had over 7,000 Indians on its site. And

Mental blogs

Every finance professional who has watched the Indian IPO (initial public offer) market would be acutely conscious of the burst of self-promotion indulged in by firms planning an IPO. The experienced

Quiet IPOs

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 367 - Editorial Comment