What the Budget has for banks and regulators

Reworking the financial sector

Business Standard

Signs of change in the BJP's approach to its core issues

The benefits of power

Missing farm focus

Clarity needed on the plan to reduce corporation tax

Wanted: a time frame

Arun Jaitley had a difficult job to do, and he has coped well. He has met his headline target of restricting the fiscal deficit for the year that is about to close, to 4.1 per cent, despite massive shortfalls in tax revenue and disinvestment proceeds. His answer has been ruthless cutting of expenditure - mostly money that should have gone to states for social expenditure programmes. As for next year, the Finance Commission took away a sizeable chunk of money and gave it to states - the total devolution of central funds to states has gone up from 5.4 per cent of GDP in 2013-14 to a budgeted seven per cent in 2015-16. Despite this very substantial loss of fiscal space, the central deficit is to come down by 0.6 per cent of GDP (from 4.5 per cent to 3.9 per cent) over the first two years of the Modi government. If one assumes no other changes in state finances, then the combined deficit of the central and state governments would have dropped over these two years from seven per cent of GDP

Coping under pressure

The real way to have security in ministries

Less paper, please

The right track

Swine flu could be controlled with government action

Prevent an epidemic

Deregulate e-commerce, and see ancillary benefits

Free the clicks

A new plan for gas

For states, more power and responsibility

Accelerating devolution

India's coal-fired plants just not good enough

Power that pollutes

Government must not give up on difficult reform

Reform resolution

Revamp appointments system for central universities

Politicisation rot

Risky to stray from deficit target in Budget

Keep to fiscal path

What Apple's car project means for India and the world

The iCar future

Prime minister's two speeches give hints of his direction

A weekend in New York

But Prime minister's US trip reveals limits of summit meetings

A multi-faceted relationship

Flawed news coverage of prime minister's United States trip

Over the top

Intellectual property policy should focus on implementation

Appeasement for none

Government deserves credit for raising fuel prices

Making a choice

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 306 - Editorial Comment