The suggestion mooted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), to extend the ban on milk powder exports till March, is bizarre. The ban was ill-advised in the first place because milk production

Time to rescind the ban

Business Standard

Amidst the ruckus over the Indo-US nuclear deal that kept Parliaments eventually aborted monsoon session paralysed for a good bit of its time, the law-makers did, fortunately, manage to pass the

A good law passed

It has to be a bit more than a coincidence that the countrys best-performing sector (IT and ITeS) is also its least regulated. So if theres something to the view that governments kill sectors they

Killing with kindness

Most forecasts of GDP growth during the current year put it at being lower than last years scorching pace of 9.4 per cent. The advance estimate for growth during the first quarter (April-June) was 9

Expected deceleration

It is our contention that the nuclear co-operation agreement should not be seen in isolation from the overall context of India-US strategic relations, its impact on our foreign policy and our

See nuclear pact in context of energy security

The Prime Ministers observation that the government cannot continue to subsidise the economic and commercial use of water merits serious consideration. Equally relevant were his comments at the

In troubled waters

September has seen some hard blows delivered to the software giant Microsoft, even as it has been kind to consumers. In the early part of the month, the Redmond-based software giant suffered a setback

Not so soft

The governor of the Bank of England preaches monetary morality one day, only to bend to the wind, throw principles overboard, and bail out a mortgage company two days later. The head of the US Federal

Which master`s voice?

The inflation rate as measured by changes in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) declined to a five-year low of 3.32 per cent in the week ending September 8, 2007. In a week in which the US Federal

Lurking threats

Societies tend to be naturally chaotic as different groups strive for supremacy over other groups. So, from time immemorial, it has been the endeavour of all sensible societies to prevent descent into

Democratic discourse?

The Reserve Bank of India continues to take small steps in an effort to roll back the dollar waves coming in from across the ocean, but it is likely to have as much success as King Canute. Thus, the

The larger question

The dreaded bird flu is here again, less than a year after India formally declared itself free of the contagious disease that is caused by the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus. This has

That virus again

Yesterdays quarterly announcement of its monetary and credit policy by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was on expected lines. It raised the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 7 per cent

Predictable but partial

The Madras High Courts dismissal of the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis patent plea has immediate implications for the companys key cancer drug, Glivec, but it also touches on the much bigger

Patenting the public good

On the face of it, Justice BN Srikrishna, who headed the Mumbai riots commission of inquiry, has no case when he says (as quoted in a news report) that any judge taking up such a task must do so only

After commission, omission?

An elaborate multi-layered consultation process has been included with regard to any future events that may be cited as a reason by either party to seek cessation of cooperation or termination of the

Our nuclear plans remain untouched

The parleys on Sunday suggest that the government may still work out with its Left allies some way to avoid a showdown on the nuclear agreement with the United States. Whether that can be done and the

What next?

Yesterday, August 20, was observed by the Congress as Rajiv Gandhis 63rd birth anniversary. Neither the Congress nor anyone else, so far as can be made out, observed the day as the World Mosquito Day

The mosquito`s day

The decision by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to recommend the approval of 24 per cent foreign holding in an ICICI Bank subsidiary for its insurance and asset management businesses seems to

Arbitrariness in FDI

Ever since 1980, when a sharp rise in onion prices first became a major election issue, contributing to the defeat of the ruling dispensation and the return of Indira Gandhi to power, onions have been

Onion prices again

Each crisis leads to incremental improvement of the institutional structure of the global financial system. The sub-prime crisis may generate important reforms in the role and functioning of credit

Rating the raters

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

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