Page 217 - Editorial Comment
The fear factor: An overzealous CBI could cramp decision-making in banks
Such over-vigilance is likely to have a debilitating impact on the decision-making process in Indian banks, especially in the state-owned ones
Timely advice: PM has rightly stressed on the need to conserve water
The overall water stock in the country's 91 major reservoirs has dipped to less than one-fourth of their combined storage capacity
Still under construction
Despite implementation woes, Rera has set the tone
Realign FDI in retail: Existing policy is plagued with convoluted riders
The impact of these convoluted riders is visible in the poor response by global retail investment in one of the world's largest markets
India must make the most of a thaw in its relations with China
Beijing is now looking to reduce unpredictability in its vicinity, brought about by the sudden change in the Korean peninsula, which saw North Korea and the US coming to an understanding
A quarter of Indian households are still without power
In UP and Bihar alone, 21 million households are still unconnected, almost half of the 41 million households still not electrified as of a few months ago
A question of heritage: PPPs for monument upkeep need checks and balances
So far, public sector units that have bankrolled monuments have been fairly unobtrusive in their branding at these sites
Right call: TDSAT's interim ruling is judicious for many reasons
Trai's tariff order allowed pricing flexibility to telcos with less than 30 per cent of the market subscribers or industry revenue through the new definition of SMP
A good beginning: Payroll data can benefit from more transparency
It is high time the government moved away from a survey-based approach of assessing employment growth in the country, and opted for payroll data
The EarthNow promise
Live video surveillance will raise more privacy concerns
Stick to rules: Avoid discretion on cooling-off period for bureaucrats
Former finance secretary Ashok Jha was granted one to join as head of Hyundai India
Illogical tax demand: Taxing banks' free services defies business logic
The tax department imputes a value to each free service that a bank offers and argues that it is liable to tax
A retrograde step: New rules for plastic waste dilute earlier norms
The notable provisions of the 2016 rules that have been tinkered with include phasing out of multi-layered plastics
No longer a counterweight: What lies behind the India-China 'reset'?
Indian government do not want to have any major disturbances on the border, or any other kind of confrontation, in the year leading up to general elections
The long arm of the state: Draconian laws often ignore the real issues
Take, for example, the issue of death penalty for those accused of raping young girls. For one, it is more likely this will lead to more rape victims being killed
In defence of Rs 2,000: Slowdown in printing illogical, consumer-unfriendly
The short point is that the economy not only needs more notes, but an expanding economy with a reasonable degree of inflation needs more notes of larger denomination
The comrades' new line: CPI(M) needs to bring in new faces in leadership
It is far too dependent for leadership either on those associated with old and discredited Left governments; or with those who have no connection to grassroots politics
Warnings on the external account: CAD could expand to 2013 levels
The government's approach to the crucial exports sector has been alternately backward-looking and coercive
High on promise: Can the Defence Planning Committee turn things around?
The DPC could overcome a long-standing weakness in India's strategic thinking on defence, which has so far been dealt with in silos and often lacked full political approval
Opposition's move to impeach CJI Dipak Misra has unfortunate after-effects
Politicians should not play games with the reputation of the judiciary as a whole or that of individual judges