The signalling at the Federal Reserve of the US meeting last week that no more interest rate hikes should be expected during 2019 has ramifications across the globe given the scale of the US economy and the importance of Federal Reserve policy to global investments. From the perspective of the Indian investment community, there are some crucial takeaways and the reiteration of a few existing trends.


Federal Reserve signals for Indian investments (Column: Behind Infra Lines)


IANS Automatic

The decision by The National Council For The Promotion Of The Urdu Language to use Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina AKaif to promote the language has triggered off a wave of outrage.


Promoting Urdu but no Javed Akhtar? (Column: Bollywood Spotlight)


The street smart tactics of the Pakistan army -- played out by Prime Minister Imran Khan at its behest -- to some how diffuse the overwhelming pressure of international opinion blaming it for collusion with Islamic militants, are not doing much for it this time.


Pakistan: It is more of the same (Column: Spy's Eye)


There  is nothing more painful in  life than death. And even more painful is the realisation that  even our most iconic  heroes must age.


Robert Redford to retire, should've done so years ago (COlumn: Bollywood Spotlight)


Over the last two-to-three decades, the major success story of the Indian economy has been the stellar growth of its IT industry. But as the dividends from the sector reach the eventual inflection point, India needs to build similar competencies in other industries to ensure sustained growth and prosperity.


Biotechnology can be Indian economy's next success story (Column: Active Voice)


The recent news regarding the Embassy Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) listing and the possible listing by Reliance of its fibre assets through an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) bring our attention to an important topic. Additionally, issues around participants in capital markets adopting sophisticated strategies to utilise capital for optimal projects and partnering with capital providers are worth analysing.


InvITs & REITS: Moves in the right direction (Column: Behind Infra Lines)


The superstars have been failing on a regular basis to deliver notwithstanding their Eid, Diwali, Christmas and other festival release dates not to mention 4000+ screens and enhanced ticket rates! Anything goes in the name of stunts and the special effects will do the job is not working anymore! So, now is the time to turn to content oriented films. When a maker has solid content, a superstar is not needed. Of the reigning but 50+ superstars, only Aamir Khan seems to have realized this fact! Or, so his film Dangal and his portrayal of a determined Haryanvi father, wanting to turn his daughters into world class wrestling champs, has proved!


Ten weeks and five hits: Content matters (Column: B-Town)


Markets had a good showing last week and continued their gains from the previous week. The Midcap and Smallcap segment outperformed the benchmark indices on expected lines. BSE SENSEX was up 607.62 points or 1.68 per cent to close at 36,671.43 points. NIFTY gained 171.90 points or 1.58 per cent to close at 11,035.40 points. BSE Midcap gained 2.08 per cent and BSE Smallcap was up 3.91 per cent. This positive movement in the smaller stocks has brought smiles on the faces of many investors after a very long time.


Markets likely to continue to gain ground in coming week (IANS Insight-Market Watch)


Amidst the ongoing repercussions of the punitive air strike made by the Indian Air Force to take out the training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, the address of India's External Affairs Minister - Sushma Swaraj - at the Foreign Ministers conference of OIC at Abu Dhabi on March 1 was an event of extraordinary significance for the geopolitics of South Asia, the future of India-Pakistan relations and the so-called Islamic world itself.


India in the Islamic world (Column: Spy's Eye)


Global trends in money management and business efficiency are a useful guide to build and scale Indian businesses, especially to increase the efficiency of capital usage.


(SATURDAY) 'Permanent' capital: Vital differentiating factor for business (Column: Behind Infra Lines)


The political discourse across the world is increasingly becoming dominated by the phenomenon of populism. The term has become so commonplace that it usually appears in popular media without an explanation as to who qualifies to be a populist. However, revisiting the idea can be instructive at this point.


Rising disparity of income and opportunities led to rise of populism globally (Column: Active Voice)


Since there is a dreary sameness about the speeches of both Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, the commencement of the elections will provide most people with the opportunity to not only vote for their favourite candidates, but also a respite from the political boasts and accusations.


Why doesn't the Congress mention economic reforms? (Column: Political Circus)


Practice what you preach. Priyanka Chopra forgot the validity of this adage when at her wedding in December last year in Jodhpur she was seen enjoying a fireworks display.


Celebrities have a responsibility to uphold their public image in private spaces (Column: Bollywood Spotlight)


In this national election year, the concept of a universal basic income has become a political football. The opposition Congress Party is promising to implement a "nationwide minimum income for the poor" and Prime Minister Narendra Modis administration is proposing a "basic income for poor farmers." What is not needed on this very serious and important topic is the scoring of political points. What is needed is a careful and considered non-partisan assessment by an independent commission to determine whether and how a universal basic income of some type could enhance the future of India and its people.


Universal Basic Income a great idea, but needs to be tested (Comment)


Filmmaking has been all about trendsetting and following trends. Sounds nice. But, when the same thing is said in Hindi, it is called Bhed Chaal, not so complementary a term.


A new round of Bhed Chaal (Column: B Town)


As the March 29 cut-off date for Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) nears, there seems to be no consensus among its politicians on a withdrawal agreement.


Britain needs a second referendum on Brexit (Column: Active Voice)


Events in India's credit market over the last one year have once again shown that debt used well is a value creator, but excessive debt can lead to severe problems. The crucial point to keep in mind is that well-structured lending institutions in the credit space are much needed to aid a rapidly growing economy, and, therefore, strategies that will help create such companies are worth analysing.


Reduce refinancing risk for NBFCs to boost securitisation (Column: Behind Infra Lines)


The RSS on Tuesday hailed the Indian Air Force's air strike on the Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp at Balakot killing "a very large number" of terrorists, saying it was carried out in tune with the "Bharatiya culture".


Air strikes carried out in tune with Bharatiya culture: RSS


We live in the Age of Knowledge that set in with the success of the information technology (IT)revolution at the beginning of the Nineties -- 1991 is, in fact, acknowledged as the cut-off year between the new era and the earlier Industrial Age. It gifted a new level of connectivity across geographical frontiers that brought in 'globalisation' unleashing a different degree of competitiveness in business and sharing of ideas that would force socio-political transparency. It made the individual the centre of productivity and destroyed many conventional notions of leadership, team work and output. Behind all of this was the new mandate of the Age of Knowledge that being well- informed was the key to success in any field. What then is the meaning of being well-informed?


Are you well-informed? (Column: Spy's Eye)


The regional film industries were always marginal to the mainstream Hindi films. This was especially so in the Hindi knowing states from the Hindi belt to the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat in western India. The Punjabi industry which made intermittent films has now blossomed into full-fledged one.


Revival of regional cinema partly due to Hindi (Comment: B Town)


The availability and usability of land to many investment sectors are essential, and yet these are areas that do not get the attention they deserve while making investment decisions and formulating policies. In the Indian context, this issue assumes greater importance, given the problems related to land that businesses and investors have faced in the past. Regardless, some fundamental questions must be answered regarding usability and relevant "land availability".

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