The stock of FDI in India, as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is now about $220 billion or 12% of GDP. Multinationals have a long history here. It had a steady course – not counting the aberration in the 1970s, when IBM and Coca-Cola were sent packing. An RBI study says that the 745 foreign firms that have invested in India had an overall return on equity of about 13% in the year end
Kerala and Andhra Pradesh might be the best performing states in India in reducing poverty but when compared with ‘star performing countries’ like Nepal or Bangladesh, they cut a sorry figure. The latest report released by the University of Oxford based on the multidimensional poverty index (MPI), both the states are not even half as good as Nepal or Bangladesh. The study is based o
The difference between a good leader and a bad one is thinner than the crust of a good pizza. It could well be defined within the realms of blame game, that favourite Indian pastime: the former usually cops all the blame, voluntarily, while the latter passes it on to lesser minions, usually voluntarily, though seen through a maze of bureaucratic balderdash of putting things in order. It
The Congress, as the leading party of the ruling coalition, is completing two terms in power. But 2014 is going to be the toughest task it has faced in recent decades. Reasons are many: a series of corruption scandals, popular middle-class movements against it, the rise of Narendra Modi and finally the apparent indecision over Rahul Gandhi’s role. Veteran leader Digvijay Singh, who is, am
The developing story of the Italian marines requires reiteration of a fundamental tenet of our civil society. Decisions of the supreme court of India have always been recognised as the final word on all disputes adjudicated by them. Judgments of the supreme court are the law in our republic and binding on all parties. The constitution gives the supreme court powers to pass any orders for the en
India has no dearth of government schemes and programmes aimed at delivering development in general and welfare to the needy. But have they delivered development and made a difference in the life of a poor family? More importantly, do we raise these questions to begin with – questions of evaluating the impact of development/welfare initiatives? Howard White, an economist an
Do check the facts of your tweet if you do not want 50-odd Narendra Modi supporters lashing out at you for your brilliant faux pas. Ask Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor. On Thursday, Tharoor tweeted about an article, from a listings site ‘Sulekha.com’ which cites statistics showing how Kera
A latest report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says that in a span of 12 years (2000-2012), India has registered growth of 1.5 percent only on the human development Index (HDI). The 2013 report says that India faces significant social challenges in the years to come as the country has been ranks 136 among 187 countries calculated for HDI. “Despite the
Shortly after the news of Bitihotra Mohanty’s arrest in Kerala last week, came news that Ram Singh had ‘committed suicide’ in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Bitti has been on the run since 2006, when he jumped parole and escaped a seven-year sentence for raping a 26-year-old German woman in Alwar, Rajasthan. Singh was the main accused in the brutal Delhi gangrape of 23-year-old par
I felt depressed after reading Chanakya’s New Manifesto To Resolve the Crisis Within India. This isn’t because the book, drawn from Pavan K Varma’s readings of Chanakya’s Arthashastra, tells the truth as it is. It’s because the new manifesto that Varma draws for addressing these cancers will never be achieved. Let me explain. At the very outset, th
One thing which the BJP and Congress have in common is their double standard when it comes to issues related to the western world. Praise from foreign leaders, newspapers and magazines is presented as an endorsement, while criticism is dismissed, by simply saying that external opinions don`t count. The grand old party spared no opportunity to shield Dr Manmohan Singh from domestic criti
The social media is smelling a rat in the alleged suicide of December 16, gangrape accused Ram Singh who, according to reports, hanged himself in his cell with a rope made of his ‘own clothes’. No one believes the story of the suicide; and the laxity of the police administration, which is unable to guard its own prisoners in custody, now comes to fore. Also re
Akhilesh Yadav, the chief minister of UP, was recently reported as stating that the bureaucrat has “no allegiance to anyone” (kisi ka nahin hota hai). This statement was made while addressing the party workers. It is not clear whether the statement was adulatory, referring to the neutrality and impartiality of the civil servant; or was it a lament that the senior bureaucrat has no &
There is much anger among lawyers on the release of the upcoming release of Arshad Warsi-starrer starrer, Jolly LLB. As soon as its trailer went on air, at least three different cases were filed against the release of the movie scheduled for March 15. A group of lawyers in Meerut moved the Delhi high court against the release of the movie claiming that the scenes in the trailer
I woke up to screaming adverts and news stories in the papers this morning about the many facets, and the many faces, of Indian women; how important they are to our lives, and the national economy; how it is our duty to respect them. It felt good, though a little heady: a little patronising, are we being? Reaching office, I logged on to facebook, where a woman friend — a f
Now that Narendra Modi is not hitting the Skype on March 23 to make that keynote address at the Wharton India Economic Forum, the debate about what the issue was all about could be addressed in a more civil, reasonable way. Ania Loomba, one of the three Indian-American professors of the University of Pennsylvania who shot off the protest petition that led Wharton to revoke its invi
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board of India on March 4 rejected the German firm Bayer AG`s appeal of a ruling last year that allowed Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma to produce a cheaper generic version of Bayer’s kidney and liver cancer drug Nexavar. This would result in a treatment that more people would be able to afford. Our cover story for September 1-15, 2012 issue went behi
That is unspeakable. The Indian government has recommended that the age for consensual sex should be dropped from 18 to 16 after raising it from 16 to 18 so that mere teens can now romp about without breaking the law. Thought process: kids grow up faster. So what? To add insult to injury you have the National Committee for Protection of Children asking for the age to be dropped to 12. W
The UPA government has completed nine years in office. Nine years is a reasonable period for any government to leave its footprints behind. It can effect changes which will impact the destiny of the nation. The UPA has a dismal record in office. It inherited the governance of an enthusiastic nation. India was being show-cased before the world as an investment destination. The NDA left behind a
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board of India on March 4 rejected the German firm Bayer AG`s appeal of a ruling last year that allowed Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma to produce a cheaper generic version of Bayer’s kidney and liver cancer drug Nexavar. This would result in a treatment that more people would be able to afford. Our cover story for September 1-15, 2012 issue went behi
