Economy
RBI Annual Report, 2000-01 -- Spare menu of solutions
THE RBI's Annual Report for 2000-01 is on expected lines and keeps up its tradition of excellence. It concedes that the deceleration in the economy is attributable to the combination of problems of insufficiency of aggregate demand, low public investment s and global uncertainties. It is, however, cagey about suggesting any precise solutions. True, any successful solution would breach fiscal stability targets. Hence, the sparse menu of solutions in the report.

Vision 2020 -- Dream Budgets and real nightmares
LAST February, the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, produced what was hailed as a `dream Budget'. In India, dream Budgets have the habit of turning sour, and this one has. They are becoming nightmares again and again because governments do not inspir e confidence about their good intentions.

Understanding barriers to rapid growth and employment creation
Edited excerpts of the McKinsey report that tries to find out if better economic policies can significantly improve India's economic growth.

Is dollarisation superior to dual currency boards?
THE 21st century policy-makers have strived to pursue development goals in an arena that has been transformed economically, socially and politically, with the help of two prime forces. One is globalisation -- the continued integration of nations by trigg ering massive cross-border flows of capital, goods, services, human resource and even management. The other is localisation -- the desire for self-determination and devolution of power.

Editorial
Crank it up
WHEN THE PRIME Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, brought in McKinsey for a second opinion on the economy, he probably found that the consultant had precious little to add to what has already been said before. With the economy stuck in a low-growth loop the last four years, the financial markets look hopeless and to pep them up some prefer a strong dose of public investment even if that means stretching the fiscal deficit even wider.

Miscellaneous
Professional touch
IN all the colleges I served, the pleasant task of directing plays fell to me. Being something of a writer myself, I tailored plays to suit the occasion. I always withheld the resolution of the plot even from the actors till a few hours before the stagin g and did not allow anyone unconnected with the drama to witness the rehearsals. This kept the audience on their toes.

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