Opinions and Editorials

The kind of political regimes that much of the third world has been saddled with over the last many decades have ensured an absence of real development, even if there have been periods of growth in GDP.

The government is set to implement a major overhaul of its sugar pricing policy, a policy that until now had led to distorted and less-than-efficient outcomes in the troubled sugar sector.

This study* analyses the factors responsible for transport sector CO2 emissions growth in selected developing Asian countries during 1980-2005: To identify the driving factors, we decompose the emission growth into fuel switching, modal shifting, per capita economic growth, population growth and changes in emission coefficients and transportation energy intensity using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia

The recent speech by the RBI governor has some useful ingredients in financial reform. These small steps represent progress when compared with RBI's stance of recent years of blocking all progress in finance. For a comparison, in the one year of Governor Subbarao's tenure, there has been just one achievement in financial reforms: the delicensing of ATM installation by banks.

The Reserve Bank of India urgently needs a dose of reform. The central bank is too set in its conservative ways. The prime example of this is continued control over branch expansion in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities. An organisation as large as RBI is unlikely to reform from within.

The battle for the Indian cellular service provider market is gaining momentum. With the availability of 'number portability' option in 2010, mobile phone users are now checking out the merits of various players in this sector.

The railway ministry has been told what's wrong. The Passenger Amenities Committee that has been set up — and is headed by the well-known painter Subhaprasanna from, where else, Kolkata — pointed out that train windows are frequently hazy, robbing a train journey of that sense of connection to the countryside that should be so central to the experience.

The telecom industry and their financial backers are worried that the raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation on the Department of Telecommunications, as well as on several telecom operators, would adversely affect the auctions scheduled for 14 January 2010 for third generation (3G) telecom services.

The editorial in the latest issue of the Organiser, titled "On climate change UPA dancing to US tunes," says.

Despite the physical proximity of the UAE to India, we had a fairly delayed start to a real business relationship.

Ever since August 19, when the BJP expelled Jaswant Singh for his literary endeavours, one problem has been festering.

The emperor refused to see he indeed had no clothes on till the little child blurted out the naked truth.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh's recent utterances suggesting India should have a more constructive engagement with the developed economies on climate change issues has caused both confusion and consternation among India's policy wonks.

As most rural parts of Nepal will be busy harvesting paddy crops, the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (CPN-M) will be spearheading what it calls the decisive 'third people's revolt' to capture power in Kathmandu.

Way back in 1999, when the prototype of an indigenous anti-collision device (ACD) was first tested in Goa, Mamata Banerjee was the railways minister.

Asian economies are the fastest growing markets in the world today. A majority of the Asian economies—accounting for 30% of world's merchandise trade—are experiencing growth that will stimulate transport demand in the region till 2025. There is a need for the government to take corrective measures for strengthening the railway systems in the region.

It's usually heartrending to watch hijack and hostage situations being played out on live TV but what appalled most of Bengal—and the nation—was how efficiently a little-known pro-Maoist organisation held a Rajdhani Express, no less, to ransom in Bengal for a few hours.

Even a cursory snapshot of some key sectors of the Indian economy would provide a fair indication of the gigantic funding requirements for achieving the investment objectives set out by the government.

If there is one place where the licence-permit raj in India continues to flourish, it is in the financial sector, with RBI playing the role of apex arbiter.

Reading RBI's 2009-10 mid-term policy review is a bit like watching the film The Sixth Sense; every re-visit reveals a new dimension.