Too many flip-flops don't inspire confidence

Diageo's hangover

Business Standard

Two judgments temper arbitrary executive power

Boundaries of freedom

Industrial growth, inflation data pose new challenges for RBI

A mixed picture

Time for govt to monitor funding of Wahhabi NGOs in India

Extremist indulgence

Govt's thinking on interest rates worrisome

Risking inflation

Govt must come out with a two-pronged response

The jihadi challenge

Tata Steel should now focus on its Indian operations

Bury the past

Challenges for advertisements to generate more heat

The rise of ad blockers

After Mr Rajan's departure, focus must be on unfinished tasks

A sad exit

Leave RBI alone

Use funds with Airports Authority of India for regional air links

Needless subsidy

But govt must ensure safeguards for GM product trials

A Nobel endorsement

New HRD minister's priority should be less friction, more work

Mr Javadekar's agenda

Portfolio reshuffle more significant than induction of ministers

A major expansion

Need for privacy laws and norms to protect security

Ineffective ban

India's Human Capital Index rank is a wake-up call

Human capital erosion

Clarity to emerge once central banks outline their stance

Surprising markets rally

Two decisions taken by the National Democratic Alliance government in the past fortnight have expedited labour reforms in two key sectors of the economy - apparels and retail trade. Garment manufacturing units, according to the first decision, will now be able to hire workers with a fixed term - a demand made for quite some time by the textiles industry to meet the seasonal requirements of employing workers for short periods from a month to six months or a year. In the second decision of the Union Cabinet, a model law for employment and conditions of service in shops and establishments was cleared to pave the way for retailers, restaurants and malls to remain open 24X7, ie round the clock and all through the year. The law will now be sent to states so that they could consider adopting them in its entirety or after suitable modification. At the heart of both these decisions is the Union government's commendable objective to introduce flexibility in hiring, depending on the employers' sp

Making hiring easy

The terrorist siege of a cafe in Dhaka's high-security diplomatic area in which at least 20 people, mostly foreigners, have died confirms the worst fears about the Bangladesh government's inability to control the rise in Islamic militancy in the country. This comes in the wake of over 40 individuals, like secular bloggers and members of minority communities, being killed in public places in the last three years. The earlier attempt by the authorities in Dhaka to argue that it was difficult to protect individuals from rogue attacks and that Islamist militancy had not established a presence in Bangladesh will now have to be given up. It also has to be acknowledged that there is a threat to the well-being of the nation in the immediate future. The Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina has been credited with ushering in a period of stability and economic uplift by achieving steady growth of six-seven per cent over several years. This has been critically enabled by booming garments e

Carnage in Dhaka

Why this indigenous sport deserves more attention

Kabaddi's soft powers

Forest policy needs to be reviewed to plug existing gaps

Another withdrawal

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 268 - Editorial Comment