opinion

Here comes the Shaktikanta Put

The central bank has tried to reduce borrowing costs for the Centre, the states and companies

Ram Vilas Paswan | A towering Dalit leader and tactful politician

Ram Vilas Paswan had an important role in the VP Singh government conferring the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, on BR Ambedkar posthumously and declaring his birth anniversary on April 14 as a national holiday

Discom financials — Light at the end of the tunnel?

A pick-up in collections and an improvement in payments to gencos hold out hope for discoms, but durable economic recovery and concrete policy steps key to meaningful revival

Yogi Adityanath’s Big Gamble | Chase conspiracies or address systemic flaws

By over focusing on the ‘international conspiracies’, Adityanath invites a larger risk of not just global ridicule but failing to use an opportunity to reform the system from within with correctives — if he wishes to be remembered as an able deliverer of social and economic welfare

US Elections | Harris-Pence debate exposes the unequal status of women in the US

The vice presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence exposed the soft underbelly of American society where women are still unequal to men

Why H-1B visa restrictions are no big deal for Indian IT

COVID-19 is transforming the way IT services are delivered. This can cap the travel requirement and the need for more work visas for Indian IT

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

Anxious for a lifeline, the US economy is left to sink or swim

American households and businesses have gone two months without the enhanced unemployment benefits, low-interest loans and other programmes that helped prop up the economy in the spring

Wait, is Wall Street pro-Biden now?

Beneath the volatility, which reflects investors’ reaction to short-term developments, a subtle shift is occurring on Wall Street

The importance of disinvestment to capital receipts is growing

The unofficial objective of disinvestment since 1991 has always been this: Bridge the gap of fiscal deficit

Eddie Van Halen changed the way rock music was played

Bands during college music festivals would cover all of Van Halen’s contemporaries, from Metallica to Iron Maiden and Guns’n’Roses. Few, if any, would attempt to cover a Van Halen song. This was an omission borne out of reverence, and it is this reverence that will be Eddie Van Halen’s legacy for rock musicians anywhere around the world

Chart of the Day: In life expectancy, Kerala is like Mexico while Uttar Pradesh is like Sudan

States that have high per capita incomes do not necessarily have high life expectancy

Chart of the Day | Billionaire wealth scales new heights during pandemic

In the past two years, billionaires using technology to change their business models, products and services have pulled ahead. The COVID-19 crisis accentuated this trend

Sebi’s new risk-o-meter for mutual funds will be a big help to investors

For equity-based mutual funds, risk rating will be decided based on three factors — market capitalisation, volatility, and impact cost.

Edtech startups may be booming, but education in India isn’t

The boom in Edtech startups gives an impression that education is getting the priority it deserves, but the ground reality tells a different story

Monetary Policy | Communicating a status quo policy

Even if the MPC cannot cut rates in the current macro backdrop, an effective communication of an assessment of India’s inflation and growth trajectory will go a long way in setting the expectations and underlying benefits of flexible inflation targeting approach

The Fed Chair’s message: ‘There is still a long way to go’

While the unemployment rate in the US has fallen more rapidly than many economists expected, millions of Americans remain unemployed as the coronavirus pandemic keeps many industries operating below capacity

House lawmakers condemn Big Tech’s ‘Monopoly Power’ and urge their breakups

Advance proposal to change antitrust laws, in the biggest potential shift since the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976 created stronger reviews of big mergers

How Quad missed its leapfrog moment at its Tokyo meet

The Tokyo QUAD ministerial clearly missed Shinzo Abe’s leadership. Indeed, this may even unfold a reset in Japan's policy

Checking the box on skill diversity

Disclosures suggest that boards have clearly misunderstood the intent of the regulation. Worryingly, they remain shy of an honest evaluation of themselves

Bihar Elections | LJP’s plans to go alone could cut both ways

LJP’s Chirag Paswan, it is believed, has the backing of BJP’s central leadership, and they expect to win nearly twice the number of seats to the JD(U) and install a more hardliner leader in Bihar

There are glimmers of hope for India's copper sector

The elimination of duties from copper tubes and pipes from ASEAN countries has crippled the domestic sector. The commerce ministry’s recent move for an anti-subsidy duty investigation could revive things

AirAsia Berhad’s sale in Indian venture can shake up the industry

Malaysian airline AirAsia has been on the respirator for a while now. It has recently announced that it will cease operations in Japan.