BUSINESS
Future of hugely ambitious railways national plan is wide open
The aim is to increase not just the Indian Railways' share of the total freight offered in the country, but also increase the total footprint of the railways in the economy
BUSINESS
Global focus on India’s healthcare deficit
The reputed medical journal Lancet and the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute of Harvard University are setting up a citizens’ commission which will seek to chalk out a new path to revive Indian healthcare and enable universal health coverage
BUSINESS
Wistron workers' violence can lead to learning wrong lessons
The violence at Wistron, if it signals the beginning of another round of industrial unrest, could have serious consequences for the government's Make in India policy
BUSINESS
Pawan Goenka is right. India must seize the slim window of opportunity to revive manufacturing
The vast majority of actions needed to remove the drawbacks of the Indian system, which take away from the ease of doing business, require Centre-state cooperation
BUSINESS
Listen to Supreme Court comments on economic value of trees
Till now, the forest department has evaluated trees mainly on the basis of their timber value. But as knowledge about the positive impact of trees on the environment has grown in recent decades, the cost benefit analysis has changed
BUSINESS
A section of farmers wants to cling on to a system that has outlived its utility
Today’s national needs are different and the system needs to change. The crux of the farmers’ objection to the new policy is that it will end his life of risk-free farming
BUSINESS
Apprentices hiring is a risky game for SBI
Hiring temporary staff with no stake in the system could be security risk for banks
BUSINESS
Lessons from the suspension of Tejas Express
There are of course two opposing interpretations. One says it throws into uncertainty the whole issue of privatisation, the other is more business-like and takes the development in its stride
BUSINESS
Tax havens sap resources needed to fight COVID-19
The 'State of Tax Justice 2020' report on the economic and social cost of international tax abuse pegs India's annual global loss at 45 percent of its public health expenditure
BUSINESS
Corporate investors mean business on fighting climate change
Thirty eight investment firms, including JP Morgan Asset Management and Fidelity International, part of an industry coalition that has named itself the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change, have sent a document to 36 ‘carbon heavy’ companies outlining what their expectations are
BUSINESS
No Chinese leadership please, we are Indians
It is understandable that India at the current juncture will not want to be part of a trade grouping whose natural leader is China. But in order to partake of the gains from trade, it can nter into bilateral trade pacts
BUSINESS
New regime for OSPs can change the economy
By improving the ‘ease of doing business’ regime for OSPs, productivity will increase and thereby improve the viability of this business
BUSINESS
Pfizer vaccine big achievement, but will India benefit?
There are several ifs and buts about the Pfizer announcement of a vaccine and there are question marks over affordability and the availability of cold chains in India
BUSINESS
Job reservation for locals in Haryana looks backward
The good thing is the bill is unlikely to get the President's assent
BUSINESS
Measuring governance through number crunching
Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh (in that order) have emerged as the best governed large states in the country and Uttar Pradesh is the worst, preceded by Odisha and Bihar
ECONOMY
Has Kerala gone bananas? Maybe not
Kerala's MSP: The initiative is fraught with challenges, but there is a fighting chance of success
BUSINESS
The government is undoing its own agricultural reforms with onion policy
Re-imposing stock limits and banning exports fly in the face of agri reforms
POLITICS
Quad is fine, but is India ready to take on China?
India should have a well-thought-out long-term plan on its relations with China
BUSINESS
The politics of combating COVID-19 infection
The Calcutta High Court has imposed restrictions on the Durga Puja celebrations
MARKETS
Don’t even dream of becoming an agricultural exporting powerhouse
Niti Aayog says the reforms could make India a “food-export powerhouse”. This is certainly within the realm of possibility, but should India consciously set before itself the goal of becoming a major agricultural producer?
BUSINESS
IBM follows in the footsteps of Indian IT leaders
As digital services gain ground, IBM has hived off its legacy infrastructure maintenance business
POLITICS
A Biden victory will, on balance, benefit India
One clear change for the better will be restoring a degree of stability and rationality to the process of US policy making
MARKETS
Supreme Court steps in where states do not care to tread
States have followed the Union government in tweaking labour laws, but often without the restraint shown by the Centre
BUSINESS
New defence purchase policy a mixed bag
The government has tweaked the defence acquisition policy by changing the offset requirements while keeping the emphasis on local manufacturing
