Union steel minister Virbhadra Singh wants creation of capacity to keep pace with growth in demand. He believes the only way to surmount the problems in land acquisition for mega projects is to have a more humane approach to compensating land givers. In an interview with Kunal Bose, he says the capacity consolidation he is promoting in the public sector will make it more vibrant.

'Steel capacity must be 150 mt by 2015'

Business Standard

For the second time in the nearly two years that he&rsquo;s been India&rsquo;s ambassador to Afghanistan, Jayant Prasad has been witness to the Indian embassy in Kabul subjected to terror attacks. But he still wears his Indianness like a talisman on his sleeve. Jyoti Malhotra caught up with him in his Kabul home, which looks more like a fortress than a house. Excerpts from an exclusive interview.

'In Afghanistan, Indians are praised simply for being Indian'

Union finance minister PRANAB MUKHERJEE says developing countries must have more say in decision-making at global economic fora and the priority at home is to ensure high economic growth, with equity.

'The aam aadmi has to benefit from our policy'

Former Pakistani Ambassador to Afghanistan and former chief secretary of the North West Frontier Province, Rustam Shah Mohmand, tells ADITI PHADNIS the US is part of the problem in Afghanistan.

&#39;Pak has most to gain from peace in Afghanistan&#39;

With the government notifying almost every component of the Competition Act, the country&rsquo;s anti-competitive practices watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), is beginning to function as a full-fledged body. The concept of competition and anti-competitive laws being new to the country, the task before the commission is huge. Apart from establishing itself as a performing organisation, the commission will have to sensitise various stakeholders on anti-competitive practices that are becoming more evident in a free-market economy. Dhanendra Kumar, chairperson of CCI, talks to Joe C Mathew on the priorities before the commission in its formative days.

'We will get best brains for CCI'

The entire country will have a Naxal problem if the government does not back the Millennium Development Goals with sufficient funds, Salil Shetty, Director of the UN Millennium Development Campaign, tells Sreelatha Menon.

'India's problem is implementation'

Mohamed Nasheed, the president of the Maldives, who was in New Delhi as the chief guest at the &ldquo;High-Level Conference on Climate Change: Technology Development &amp; Transfer,&rdquo; tells JYOTI MALHOTRA that India should be a little bit more &lsquo;flexible and mature&rsquo; in the global climate change talks.

&#39;There is a Maldivian link to 26/11&#39;

Two years after it was first constituted, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) continues to move ahead in a patchy manner &mdash; it is inviting bids for 2,800 km of cross-country pipelines and 1,200 km of spurlines next week; it is in the process of fixing tariffs for the Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Gas Transportation India Limited (RGTIL) pipeline; and will bid out around eight to ten geographical areas for city-gas distribution every month for another two to three years.

'We cannot regulate gas prices'

The New Delhi ministerial, starting Thursday, is expected to give out signals for the medium-term future of the World Trade Organization. PASCAL LAMY, WTO Director-General, in an email interview with Jyoti Mukul &amp; Sudheer Pal Singh, stresses the need for flexibility by members to achieve the aim of concluding the Doha Round of talks.

'We need to step up pace to get to a deal in 2010'

Union rural development minister C P JOSHI tells Sreelatha Menon he has been following a progressive agenda on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme and won&rsquo;t be deterred by critics.

&#39;We will soon sort out all differences on NREGS&#39;

Prakash Javadekar, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and spokesperson, speaks to Aasha Khosa about the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance&rsquo;s chances in the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra.

'Congress-NCP government  has plundered Maharashtra'

Almost every development programme in Andhra Pradesh is today seen as a model.

&#39;YSR knew people wanted big actions&#39;

The Clinton Climate Initiative, a programme of the William J Clinton Foundation, is in the process of setting up four &lsquo;solar parks&rsquo; across the world with an overall capacity of 20,000 Mw. On Monday,it signed an agreement with the Gujarat government for setting up what is billed as the world&rsquo;s largest solar project. IRA MAGAZINER, CCI&rsquo;s chairman, talked to Maulik Pathak on his plans.

&#39;Solar power in India will cost less than coal energy in five years&#39;

There are concerns on technology, cost and privacy in the decision to allot a unique identification number to every Indian. In a talk with Karan Thapar on the CNN-IBN television channel&rsquo;s Devil&rsquo;s Advocate programme, NANDAN NILEKANI, who has agreed to head the newly-created Authority to plan and implement this project, concedes these are legitimate concerns. And, that these can be addressed and the project is worthwhile.

'There is no dispute that we are going into uncharted territories ...but the benefits make it worth it'

Rupinder Singh Sodhi, a former judge of the Delhi High Court who argued for Moninder Singh Pandher in the Nithari case, tells SREELATHA MENON that justice is not about knee-jerk reactions.

&#39;A judge has to be like Caesar&#39;s wife&#39;

In the background of the perception that the long talks with both China and Pakistan are going nowhere much, National Security Advisor M K NARAYANAN is questioned by Karan Thapar on the CNN-IBN television channel&rsquo;s Devil&rsquo;s Advocate programme.

&#39;We are careful in dealing with China, but there is no sense of appeasement or fear&#39;

With a year of economic downturn behind us, Stuart Corbridge, professor of development studies at London School of Economics, expects that the world might suffer a public sector downturn next year. However, he is optimistic about Indian prospects. In a conversation with Devika Banerji, Corbridge says that the problem with India&rsquo;s growth story has been its inability to reduce poverty to significant levels.

'India can sustain 6-8% growth rates up to 2025'

IIT teachers across the country will observe hunger strike on September 24, while attending classes as usual. Among other things, M Thenmozhi, President of the All-India IIT Faculty Federation, tells Pradipta Mukherjee why the federation has opted for this course of action.

'We now wish to sit down and discuss things'

RICHARD LAMBERT, director general, Confederation of British Industry and former editor of the Financial Times worries that protectionist measures taken by leading G20 nations are not a good sign for the discussions that will continue in Pittsburgh, USA, later this week. He commends India&rsquo;s recent stand on issues like climate change, in an interview with S Kalyana Ramanathan.

&#39;It is wise for India to go for greater energy efficiency&#39;

There is a perception that you are not a mass leader like former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

&#39;I have nothing against Jagan or anyone else&#39;

I will not take any independent decisions. I will do what my party leadership wants me to do,&rdquo; says Konijeti Rosaiah, who took over as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh three weeks ago under tragic circumstances after the sudden death of YS Rajasekhar Reddy (YSR).

'I have nothing against Jagan or anyone else'

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Page 102 - Economy Interviews

'Steel capacity must be 150 mt by 2015'

'In Afghanistan, Indians are praised simply for being Indian'

'The aam aadmi has to benefit from our policy'

'Pak has most to gain from peace in Afghanistan'

'We will get best brains for CCI'

'India's problem is implementation'

'There is a Maldivian link to 26/11'

'We cannot regulate gas prices'

'We need to step up pace to get to a deal in 2010'

'We will soon sort out all differences on NREGS'

'Congress-NCP government has plundered Maharashtra'

'YSR knew people wanted big actions'

'Solar power in India will cost less than coal energy in five years'

'There is no dispute that we are going into uncharted territories ...but the benefits make it worth it'

'A judge has to be like Caesar's wife'

'We are careful in dealing with China, but there is no sense of appeasement or fear'

'India can sustain 6-8% growth rates up to 2025'

'We now wish to sit down and discuss things'

'It is wise for India to go for greater energy efficiency'

'I have nothing against Jagan or anyone else'