opinion

Cautious optimism over US-China deal

Fine print and implementation key to success of the trade pact between two super powers

Trade war and metal stocks: stay in the brace position | Corporate Corridor

A phase one deal between the US and China is a start but a lot more ground needs to be covered before companies or investors can turn bullish

Politics | Criticisms of the CAB do not stand close scrutiny

The legal criteria for the singling out of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the citizenship Act stands on a solid legal criteria, and not some arbitrary concocted one.

WTO setback a wake-up call for India

Government needs to hasten pacts with regional trading blocs

Politics | Protests against CAB are more political than humanitarian

The citizenship Act, in its application, is not about opening doors to new migrants who wish to come to India but more about legalising those already in India and do not figure currently in any official rolls.

Citizenship Amendment Bill | Hollow arguments and farcical allegations

Most of the reasons raised by those opposing the CAB are futile, even misleading. However, the concerns raised from the Northeast are real and must be redressed in a proactive manner.

Citizenship Amendment Bill | Why India must not alienate its close neighbours

Telling a friendly neighbour that you have persecuted your minorities is both bad diplomacy and cocking a snook at those who stood by you in protecting your national security interests — the CAB conveys that to Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Citizenship Amendment Bill | Three big worries the CAB poses

The time to fulfil one festering promise the Congress made and forgot for 35 years has come, besides making the law future-ready and spook-proof.

Citizenship Amendment Bill | Why the Bill is seen as a blow to India’s democratic values

The apprehension to accept ‘illegal immigrants’ from Bangladesh has forced thousands of Assamese people to protest against the CAB. The wave of protests has affected many parts of the Brahmaputra valley, while the Barak valley — a region predominantly inhabited by Bengalis — is celebrating.

Core inflation fell in November, indicating continuing weakness in demand

The dilemma the central bank faces is the combination of rising food prices and plunging core inflation

Is the Index of Industrial Production an accurate yardstick?

Did fragrances really contribute 2.5 percentage points to IIP growth in October?

The revamped partial guarantee scheme will need a braveheart banker to succeed

Even though a sizable chunk of NBFC loans falls under the BBB+ category, the quality of these loans is doubtful

Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 | Startups hold the aces

The Bill, which provides for a stringent penalty regime, may prove expensive and onerous for the existing businesses

Politics | Why Suu Kyi is right in saying ‘genocide’ claims are incorrect

The current narrative of ‘genocide’ of the Rohingyas in Rakhine is highly problematic from two distinct angles: The history of the Rohingya and the reality of law and order operations in Myanmar.

Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 | Control over non-personal data a risky proposition

Giving ultimate access to the government with no statutory accountability will only muddy the waters

Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 | Data privacy or is it easy access to privacy?

The question being asked is, what about the threat as government departments are exempted from the purview of the Data Protection Bill

IBC: Ring fencing the corporate debtor from all defects

Protecting a company from the actions of its promoters will help the acquirer in an insolvency process. But it could create a moral hazard

Data Privacy | The making of a Surveillance State

India’s proposed Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 gives absolute power to the Centre to exempt its agencies from the purview of the Law if the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with the foreign States, public order

Politics | Will Britain break the Brexit logjam?

This in the ultimate analysis is the Brexit election and so the choice for the British electorate will be between Boris Johnson who is promising to deliver Brexit by January 31 and Jeremy Corbyn who will negotiate a new Brexit deal and then grant a new EU referendum.

Interest rate options can be the remedy against higher interest rates and higher EMIs

Interest rate options can also be used as a fixed income instrument generating a steady return if investors play the game right

Save or spend — The provident fund puzzle

Move to lower staff contribution to PF corpus can affect the retirement corpus of millions

Society | Is outrage about sexual assault the flip side of indifference?

What the intense focus on a few cases out of the tens of thousands of rapes across India every year (32,599 reported cases in 2017) obscures is that sexual assault is a pervasive and persistent pandemic that is not going to disappear thanks to the death penalty or ‘encounters’.

Broker default – Only a strong deterrent can plug the gap

The punitive action should be like the one taken on ‘fugitives’ to prevent recurrence