Economy
The emerging financial scenario
ONE of the most surprising developments in the recent period has been the turnaround in the fiscal situation. As if to anticipate the obligations under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the Government's performance has also improved dramatically. Almost eve
ry element of the Government's receipts has shown a distinct increase over the budgeted targets. As a result, the gross fiscal deficit has been significantly lower by nearly Rs 12,000 crore over the corresponding period last year.
Vision 2020 -- Taking harsh, but right decision
RAPID economic growth is the talk of the day. For four decades India has languished with the Hindu rate of growth of 3.5 per cent. Though the rate has nearly doubled, we are not satisfied. Like Oliver, the Prime Minister is asking for more. However, like
driving fast, fast economic growth has attendant risks. It is not clear if the advocates of rapid growth have contemplated those risks, and how to avoid them.
UNCTAD World Investment Report -- M&As: Bordering on a global business conquest?
THE UNCTAD World Investment Report 2000 forecasts that global foreign investment will exceed $1 trillion, largely driven by mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Firms from the European Union dominate cross-border M&As with significant growth in investment in
the US.
`Reforms have bypassed poorest of poor' -- Dr M. Govinda Rao, Director, ISEC
IN A recent conversation held in his office at Bangalore, the Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Dr M. Govinda Rao, emphasised the point that unless the benefits derived from the implementation of reforms policies reached the poore
st of the poor, a strong constituency for reforms would not be created in the country. This is perhaps the most important reason why a consensus on reforms has not yet been forged. Dr Govinda Rao spoke to Business Line.
Editorial
All black
IT IS UNFORTUNATE that the coal industry should see disruption of operations at regular intervals. While the central trade unions active in the coal sector can be faulted for being frivolous with this medium of protest, the fact that they always s
ucceed in organising strikes shows the Union Government and the public sector coal industry management in poor light. The recent division among the TUs that has resulted in the CITU on one side and four others -- Intuc, Aituc, the HMS and the BMS -
- coming on one platform is a sure sign of the deteriorating industrial relations in this sector.
Miscellaneous
Vanaprasthashram
The approach of India's ancient seers and sages to life and its problems is breathtaking in its sophistication and practicality. They have answers to every situation a human being is likely to encounter. Even the varnashrama dharma -- t
he division of society into four categories -- which later on got distorted into the caste system, was to bring about specialisation suited to the needs and progress of the society. Likewise, there is nothing to beat the concept of joint family as
a fountainhead of family values and social security.
Of square idlis and election insurance
NONE can enslave the mind of man. This unbridled freedom of thought triggers imagination and creativity. Many people have novel and original ideas but do not express them. The media does not have columns for novel ideas. The ideas may be stupid and, at b
est, provoke a chuckle. But an enterprising person may make it good business. ``Airplanes are interesting but of no military value,'' said Marshall Ferdinand Foch, a French military strategist in 1911. Today, we know all too well their role and value. In
1977, Kenneth Olsen, founder-president of Digital Equipment Corporation, said: ``There is no reason for individuals to have computers in their homes.'' The reality today is that children use computers as toys.
