opinion

Homebuyers’ property rights are sacrosanct. Don’t play with it

Registration of undivided share (UDS) of land can go a long way in saving hapless buyers from marauding builders

Macro Matters | How bad is the current slowdown in the Indian economy?

Bank credit numbers give us an insight about the extent of the slowdown

Policy | Modi’s call to empower every district is an economic and cultural opportunity

The idea of ‘One District, One Product’ is derived from the ‘One Village, One Product’ movement in Japan. The movement, launched in the Otia prefecture of Japan in 1979, was aimed at revitalising the village economy and social communities.

Legal Matters | Constitutional issues on proposed ban on Bitcoins

The Draft Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019 not only bans any use of cryptocurrency within India, but also recommends a maximum jail sentence of 10 years.

Monetary Madness | Why are global markets so nervous?

Since the early 1980s economic downturns have been triggered more by financial booms gone wrong than by monetary policy tightening to quell inflation flare-ups.

Kashmir | India has prepared well, but Pakistan is unlikely to remain quiet

For now India seems to have taken all the right precautionary steps, but, in case of India’s reaction to impending agitations in Kashmir going awry, pressures on Pakistan’s army from its terror proxies would be considerable.

Policy | Who regulates public sector banks: Government or RBI?

The web of the finance ministry and the RBI on regulation of PSBs is making things murkier.

Floods | For Kerala, salvation is in accepting the Gadgil report

Governments in Kerala, led by both the Congress and Left, have dismissed the Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Export Panel, 2011. As the consecutive floods have shown, the government can no longer ignore the state’s fragile ecology.

Floods | Who will pick up the tab for property damage by floods?

There is always a chance of the flat buyer being short-changed. It’s all about making a fair disclosure to her

Here’s yet another way to kill Animal Spirits

Investigative agencies should not treat all decision to sanction loans which have gone bad as crimes. Fear psychosis among bankers will kill lending.

Defence | A Chief of Defence Staff will not address the armed forces’ problems

A two-decade-old bureaucratic reform cannot solve a deep human problem the Indian military is facing.

Macro Matters | Contraction in non-oil, non-bullion imports yet another sign of faltering domestic demand

Non-oil, non-bullion import growth has been negative every month since January 2019

Independence Day Speech | Modi is a man in a hurry, can India run with him?

If one were to roughly cut his Independence Day speech, for about 30 minutes Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about what his government had achieved; the remaining part of about an hour was what the government intends to achieve.

Politics | Is Brand Aaditya Thackeray removed from the masses

The projection of Aaditya Thackeray as a suave, sophisticated English-speaking individual who can hold his own with the best of the bold and beautiful is something that does not connect with the grass roots Shiv Sainiks.

India Inc | Defaulting on CSR may not land executives in prison, for now

The government appears willing to reconsider a tweak in the CSR law that had threatened jail for executives of defaulting companies.

Markets | Rupee gets a breather. It is unlikely to last

Tariff concessions seem more aimed at protecting the wallets of US consumers. No real progress has been made in US-China trade talks.

IPCC Report | Managing land is a crucial part of managing climate change

On the environment front, bridging practices to prevent land-use degradation and slashing the inefficiency of water use will be key to preventing the enormous GDP loss that India is staring at today.

Startup troubles | End of the road for angel tax?

Will relaxing angel tax rules encourage domestic capital inflows into startups? May not happen immediately but one more option is now on the table.

Policy |Govt must keep politics out of power sector to make India a $5-trillion economy

Nothing will change unless state electricity boards are revamped

Politics | Why Sonia Gandhi’s appointment as interim President was necessary

Sooner or later Sonia Gandhi will have to address the question of Congress’ ideological stance and on how the party intends to deal with the BJP juggernaut.

Policy | Offshore to onshore forex market: A bridge way too far

The Usha Thorat committee on the subject stops short of suggesting capital account convertibility.

Nestle’s recipe for riding out the FMCG slowdown | Corporate Corridor

Nestle has managed to steer clear of a slowing market, with volume growth doing most of the heavy lifting on the sales growth front

Floods | We have to change not for posterity, but for our own survival

Environmentalists from Madhav Gadgil to the latest IPCC report remind us the importance of nature and the dangers of disregarding it.

Policy | India’s love for gold is monumental. This fix can help

A capital gains exemption scheme for gold holdings on the lines of Section 54EC of the Income-tax Act could help.