Economy
Dreams and interest rates
VELYAMMACHI, the matriarch of the house, woke with a start. Angel Gabriel had confided to her in her dreams that interest rates would drop. She considered the dream ominous. Would the dollar remittances of her children in Florence and Florida fall to a t
rickle?
Boosting economy -- Export thrust, rate cut won't help
WHETHER the RBI would cut interest rates in its forthcoming Credit Policy, a certainty till a few days back, is now under a cloud, as the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, seems to have seen the limitations of this measure as an economy booster. But a
rate cut could, especially with tax revenues falling short of the target, help shore up the Government's finances.
The unkind cut for the middle-class
IT IS hard times for the middle-class. First came the announcement that administered interest rates will be cut 150 basic points. This was followed by the stock market crash resulting in loss running to more than Rs 1,00,000 crore by way of market capita
lisation hitting the small investors because of the market manipulation by various unscrupulous players. And then came the UTI thunderbolt. An institution regarded as a bulwark of protection for small investors guaranteeing safety of capital with a reaso
nable return, declared its inability to honour its commitment.
Editorial
Privatising rural prosperity
AFTER NEARLY FIVE decades of state mandated development planning, vast sections of the population, especially those in the rural areas, continue to lead a life of abject poverty. That, if nothing else, would have made out the case for a paradigm shift in
the approach to development administration. Clearly, the business of rural development is too important a matter to be left to the administrative apparatus of governments at the Centre and the States. In the event, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vaj
payee's call for a private-public partnership in promoting rural prosperity has not come a day too soon.
Miscellaneous
Finding expression, at last -- Voice of Afghan women
THE BBC on Tuesday reported two interesting media stories from Afghanistan. One is on the discovery of a pro-US radio station in Afghanistan, broadcast from a previously unused wavelength. Believed to be part of the US militarys Psychological Operations
programme, broadcasts on this radio, made in Dari and Pashtu languages, and addressed to the noble people of Afghanistan, take pains to assure the Afghan people that the coalition comprises peace-loving countries from throughout the world. Their aim is t
o put an end to terror.
Power
Will AEC shock Ahmedabad power-users?
AHMEDABAD Electricity Company (AEC), arguably the costliest power utility in the country, seems all set to take the tariff for the domestic consumer beyond Rs 5 per unit.
Terrorism
Powell's visit a plus for Pakistan
IT is tempting to ask whether it would have made any difference to the impressions of the US Secretary of State, Gen Colin Powell, if he, like the former US President, Mr Bill Clinton, had gone to Pakistan after visiting India first. Would it, in fact, h
ave been more sensible for him to have done that?
India in strategy vacuum
EVEN as Afghanistan is pounded by US warplanes, there is consternation in India that its viewpoint on Kashmir has not been adequately endorsed by the American and British leadership. Despite aligning with Russia and Iran in providing help to the Northern
Alliance, India seems to be in a strategy vacuum looking for words of comfort from both the US President, Mr George Bush, and the UK Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair.
B.W. and A.W.
SEPTEMBER 11 was certainly a defining moment. I would not put it in the same category of the B.C. and A.D. but it comes pretty close to dividing time. I would call it B.W. and A.W. -- Before World Trade Centre and After World Trade Centre.
