The problems with moving the Centre's offices

Housing the government

Business Standard

Fighting the apps

The killing of Congolese citizen Masonda Kitanda Olivier in Delhi last month - followed by random attacks on African nationals in the capital - exposed, like nothing else, the inconvenient truth of the racism embedded in the social outlook of most ordinary Indians. The death of the 23-year-old Congolese is a sinister but extreme example; Africans who come to study and work in India complain of discrimination and slights on an almost daily basis. Some 30,000 Africans study in Indian universities around the country, yet they remain the eternal outsiders. Nor is this attitude restricted to the ordinary citizenry; the Aam Aadmi Party's then law minister Somnath Bharti's reprehensible leadership of a midnight raid on African women last year and the Goa chief minister's recent statement that Nigerians were a "problem" demonstrate that the attitude cuts across the political class too. The death of Masonda Olivier proved especially embarrassing because it occurred just months after a massively

Race to the bottom

As the AgustaWestland helicopter bribery case occupies the headlines, the question of how the defence procurement system should react to such accusations has become even more pressing. Under the defence minister in the previous, United Progressive Alliance, government, a particular method was used: the blacklisting of any company accused of bribery. Perhaps the motivation for this was understandable, given the political sensitivity of defence bribery accusations. However, it rapidly became clear that it is a blunt tool - and, furthermore, one which if used at length will seriously compromise India's national security. Consider the case of India's newest range of submarines, being produced under what is called Project 75. The decision was taken to expand India's aging fleet of 13 diesel-electric submarines, many of which are long past their decommissioning dates, and which pose a threat to lives and security. Project 75 was supposed to deliver six submarines - the design would be from t

Re-examine blacklisting

Bring airlines into line with minimal action

Towards efficient regulation

Time for everybody to show greater restraint

Storm over Mint Road

Even if the reaction of the global financial markets were considered extreme, the United Kingdom's impending disengagement from the 28-nation European Union (EU) should be viewed with deep concern not just because of the dangers to one of the most remarkable economic projects in modern history but also for its influence on the tone and direction of global politics. Already, the demands for exit from other EU nations - France, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden - are becoming increasingly strident. The fact that these calls are being made by the right-wing elements underlines the single-minded xenophobia that motivated the pro-Brexit voters - specifically on the critical "free movement of labour" clause that created the illusion that Balkan and Polish people were appropriating low-level jobs and the issue of participating in the EU's controversial deal to accommodate West Asian refugees. It is worth noting that exit talks in the Eurozone were muted even at the height of the badly m

Brexit's follies

Last week, India's quest to become a full member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, or NSG, received a setback at the grouping's meeting in Seoul. In spite of efforts led by the United States to move forward on India's membership, countries could not even agree on a mechanism to discuss it. The opposition was led, reportedly, by the People's Republic of China, which argued that countries that had not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT, like India, should be subject to a specific process and there should be no "India exception". In effect, China wanted Pakistan and India to be considered together for NSG membership. It was on this unsatisfactory note - in which India was once again "hyphenated" with Pakistan - that the meeting closed with no consensus.In this context, it is perhaps necessary to ask why membership of the NSG became the focus of Indian foreign policy in the first place. Was it necessary to go so far out on a limb at the Seoul meeting of the NSG? Or for the prime min

A failed campaign

Yoga Day should kick off a wider personal health campaign

Making India fit

Insurance consolidation

But airwave sales may not resolve all the telecom woes

Nod for spectrum auction

Farmers need to be encouraged to grow more

Reining in food prices

A sterling innings from ITC's longest-serving chairman

Mr Deveshwar's legacy

States must do their part on power tariff reform

Making UDAY sustainable

Whatever the ostensible motives, the government's serial relaxations in foreign direct investment (FDI) limits on Monday deserve praise for moving the economy in the right direction. But they do not live up to the promise made by the government that the easing of restrictions on foreign investment in many sectors would make India the most open economy in the world. Several of the relaxations suffer from the old problem that bedevils doing business in India; they are hedged by conditions that expose them to bureaucratic interpretation. The scope for discretion, thus, remains.The rules for single-brand retail are a case in point. In fact, it is doubtful whether the latest modifications can be considered an easing of earlier restrictions. Having stipulated 30 per cent local sourcing norms for single-brand foreign retailers, the government initially opened the door for a relaxation by granting exemptions for Ikea and fashion chain H&M, and promising a case-by-case consideration for oth

Not a great leap forward

Use the old system for selecting the next RBI chief

Scrap the committee

Abolish revenue collection targets & avoid unnecessary appeals

Hasten tax reforms

The unholy nexus

Indian hockey's renaissance may be underway

A national sport, revived

RBI Act changes plug many gaps, but challenges remain

Targeting inflation

Many shortcomings of the new aviation policy

Flying trouble

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 270 - Editorial Comment