Investors see Lehman shadow on bankrupt country.

Greece bailout fails to revive market mood

Business Standard

In China, say you are Indian and the response is usually a rapturous rendering of Bollywood songs. In the United States the same statement elicits talk of IT and software. But in Belgium, the word &ldquo;India&rdquo; is most often coupled with steel and one name: Mittal.

Belgian town grateful to Indian benefactor, L N Mittal

The ongoing clash of civilizations between a Europe steeped in Christian traditions and the Islamic culture of its growing population of Muslim immigrants stepped up a notch on Thursday evening, with Belgian lawmakers passing a nationwide ban prohibiting women from wearing the burqa or full Islamic veil in public places.

Now Belgium bans burqa in public places

The ninth round of free trade agreement (FTA) talks between India and the European Union (EU) concluded in Brussels today. In response to queries from Business Standard, the European Commission&rsquo;s trade directorate revealed that while the chief negotiators discussed all aspects of the proposed deal, the technical discussions focused on rules of origin, trade facilitation, trade defence instruments, tariffs and procurement.

India, EU discuss all aspects of proposed FTA

After a rough spell that saw company debt rise to a high of Rs 12,000 crore and stock valuation drop, the world&rsquo;s third-largest wind turbine company, Suzlon, is looking forward to renewed and rapid growth. Chairman Tulsi Tanti spoke to Pallavi Aiyar at a recent World Economic Forum conference in Brussels about his view on a post-Copenhagen environment for wind and why green growth and development are complementary rather than contradictory.

Q&A: Tulsi Tanti, Chairman, Suzlon

Just over a year after launching the beleaguered Satyam in its new avatar as Mahindra Satyam, the company&rsquo;s CEO, C P Gurnani, and Europe head, Vikram Nair, talk with Pallavi Aiyar at the World Economic Forum in Brussels about their successes and the challenges that remain.

'We have done a good job, given the circumstances'

Last year, the information technology outsourcing market in China grew by 25 per cent to reach $25 billion in revenues, according to official statistics. Although still behind India&rsquo;s $60 billion-equivalent, many Chinese companies are increasingly confident that India&rsquo;s days as king of software outsourcing are numbered. Pallavi Aiyar spoke to Dr LIU JIREN, founder and CEO of Neusoft, China&rsquo;s largest outsourcing company, about how Chinese outsourcing firms evaluate themselves against Indian counterparts.

'India's English edge not there in hardware'

Following hot on the heels of Monday morning&rsquo;s shock announcement of a trillion dollar safety net for an increasingly shaky euro, the European Commission today announced a set of proposals aimed at increasing the economic and fiscal coordination of European Union member states. The new measures, if implemented, would move beyond immediate fire fighting and instead begin to redress the fundamental imbalances and contradictions within the euro zone that allowed an emergency like the Greek sovereign debt crisis to arise in the first place.

Europe eyes tougher fiscal discipline; creation of EMF

Around 7,000 Indian soldiers died in the battles in and around the town of Ieper during the First World War. Of these, the names and histories of only 413 are known. The rest lie in unmarked graves all over the Flemish countryside.

Lost cause?

Mentioning the India-EU FTA (free trade agreement) to European officials involved in the talks usually elicits a groan and furrowed brow. Complaints of the slow pace of negotiations and the perceived intransigence of Indian negotiators are rife in Brussels. But, the ninth round of negotiations that kicked off at the EU headquarters on Monday are taking place in an atypically optimistic atmosphere.

Hope floats for India-EU free trade pact talks

Last week, months of hand wringing in Brussels about how to save the fortunes of both Greece and the euro came to a seemingly face-saving end with the announcement of a euro 30 billion&nbsp; bail-out package agreed to by the 16-member eurozone countries. The rescue package would be jointly administered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), despite initial European reluctance to involve &ldquo;outside&rdquo; agencies, bringing the total available to Athens to euro 45 billion.

Final lap for Greece bailout, hurdles remain

Vital talks between Greek officials, the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank were put off due to the havoc wreaked by Eyjafjallajokul &mdash; the difficult-to-pronounce Icelandic volcano &mdash; that spread south to Athens on Monday.

Volcanic ash cloud grounds Greek rehabilitation talks

In a move intended to reassure the jittery financial markets, the European Commissioner for Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn, on Thursday stressed the fact that the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were aware of the need to move swiftly to help an overly indebted Greece.

'EU, IMF aware of need to move swiftly on Greece'

The months-long Greek debt-drama reached a denouement on Friday, with the Prime Minister George Papandreou, formally requesting the activation of a joint eurozone-IMF rescue package.

Aid a national need: Greek PM

This story has been modified. Please read the clarification at the end.

Clearly, nothing fragile about this growth

In India, the road to GM (genetically modified) crops may have hit a bump, with Bt brinjal getting the amber light. But, in traditionally GM-sceptic Europe, the path towards a genetically modified future for crops could have just opened up. This week, the European Commission cleared a GM potato for cultivation, the first such approval in over a decade. The move has unleashed a furious debate, with some EU (European Union) member-states declaring they&rsquo;d ban the potato, regardless of the Commission&rsquo;s go-ahead.

European commissioner splits EU by decreeing go-ahead for GM potato

CEO flying here with cricket and Bollywood in mind.

Slower is clearer, Belgian camera firm to show

In an interview with Pallavi Aiyar, the Prince who is a frequent visitor to the country discusses the growing complementarity between the Indian and Belgian economies, the common perception of India in Belgium and why he chose it as a destination for his honeymoon.

'Indian growth miracle is attracting a lot of attention'

The ongoing Greek debt crisis has rent fissures in the European Union (EU) and exposed the weakness of what was until recently considered as one of the EU&rsquo;s chief success stories: The euro.

Idea of European Monetary Fund gains traction

The southern French- speaking part of Belgium, known as Wallonia, was once amongst the richest regions in Europe. Famed for its heavy industry and fuelled by the availability of coal, it was also home to one of nineteenth century&rsquo;s most treasured luxury product: Val Saint Lambert crystal.

Belgian crystals to make a comeback in india

From the inception of the European Union, a Germany driven by war-guilt has been the motor driving integration. Ashamed and apologetic of its Nazi past, for Germany the EU has been the vehicle through which it has sought to regain legitimacy. EU membership has allowed it to act on the European and world stages without setting off alarm bells and it has thus unsurprisingly been the most ardent supporter of the European project.

Pallavi Aiyar

Pallavi Aiyar

Page 7 - Pallavi Aiyar