The November 2007 numbers for the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), released last Friday, came in far below expectations. From July, the index has followed a see-saw pattern, growing rather slowly

Erratic growth pattern

Business Standard

The Supreme Courts concurrence with the recommendation of a committee to more than double the cut-off income limit for households deemed to be below the poverty line (BPL), for the purpose of

Radical suggestion

Some forward strides appear to have been made during the Prime Ministers talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, in Beijing. The two leaders have signed a document, called A Shared Vision

Unexpected gains

Revenue collections by the central government have been so buoyant this year that people have already begun talking about reducing tax rates. The possibility of lower rates being announced in the

No time to cut rates

Squabbles between Pakistan and India over trade-related issues are multiplying. The latest to erupt is over intellectual property protection for the prized pashmina wool and the products made from it,

Whose pashmina?

With news about the state of the US economy getting worse by the day, virtually nobody is now betting on it being able to avoid a recession. Accordingly, the Bush administration last week announced a

Failed initiative?

The US Federal Reserve Boards unscheduled decision to cut its benchmark federal funds rate by a huge 75 basis points on Tuesday morning has been greeted by opinions ranging from relief to derision.

Surprise decision

As the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prepares for tomorrows announcement on its quarterly monetary and credit policy, the dramatic events of last week must surely weigh on Governor Venugopal Reddys

Need pre-emptive action

The history of financial regulation shows such regulation is rooted in crisis. Significant regulatory change usually takes place in response to the perceived inability of the previous regime to

Lessons from the turmoil

Why Italy's election results are bad news for India

The risks of austerity

Why Messrs Hollande and Cameron are wooing India

Calling on New Delhi

Budget underestimates food, fertiliser subsidies

The wrong direction

It's not just city folks who have realised that street power alone will make the ruling class do its job well. In the last two years, in the villages of Karnataka, the people are coming forward to form unions as workers of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). And it is yielding them rich dividends  not just in the form of prompt payments, and 100 and more days of work (given that 2012 was a drought year and 150 days were granted), but also in many other ways.

Sreelatha Menon: Street power in villages

The Rangarajan Committee on the production-sharing contract (PSC) mechanism in the petroleum industry has recommended major changes, which would alter the parameters of exploration and production (E&P) and have a major knock-on effect on consumers in the fertiliser, power, transport and household sectors. The committee recommends all domestic gas prices be linked to an averaged price that takes into account the landed price of Indian liquefied natural gas imports, the customs-cleared price of LNG imports into Japan (JCC) and prices at major international trading points. The pricing would be equal for all consumers, though gas would be allocated on a priority basis to the power and fertiliser industries. The formula would apply only to new contracts and would, at current rates, hike Indian gas prices to about $8.1 per mmBtu (million metric British thermal units), from $4.2 per mmBtu.

A first step forward

India claims to be undertaking a thorough transition to low-carbon electricity as a response to a range of competing agendas and constraints. It seems the country has made a smart choice for energy policy by focusing on a two-way approach  stepping up renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives. Enhanced energy efficiency is expected to partly avoid demand for additional generation capacity, while much of the remaining demand is expected to be met through renewable energy.

Ashwini K Swain & Olivier Charnoz: India's clean energy paradox

Recent improvements can be sustained through more reforms

Power gains

Price pooling of coal is a bad ideaThe decision by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to, "in principle", approve the price pooling of imported and domestic coal to be supplied to power plants may be described as a temporary step, but is nonetheless one in a dangerous direction. The details are yet to be worked out  they need to be "fitted to the principles" according to one report  but the choice now, essentially, is between a bad outcome and a terrible outcome.The terrible outcome, one that would further dent India's credibility as a state able to enforce contracts, is if those who had set up power plants that depended on a particular price of imported coal are in essence handed a bailout by the government. It is worth remembering that about 15 per cent of India's coal requirement is currently met through imports. In recent times, major coal suppliers  particularly Australia, Indonesia and Mozambique  have in various different wa

A step backward

The cut in banks&rsquo; cash reserve ratio, or CRR, last Tuesday should give Indian industry and the financial markets reason to cheer. The cut came despite both a somewhat uncomfortable print for core inflation (inflation shorn of the impact of food and fuel), at 7.8 per cent for December 2011, and some senior Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials&rsquo; apprehensions (at least as reported in the press) that it could skew inflationary expectations.

Abheek Barua: Rates will rise slowly, and late

Among the large number of disparagers of the government&rsquo;s proposed food security law, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has been the most relentless, and also among the most outspoken. His latest salvo, expressing misgivings about its smooth implementation without investing more on boosting food production, is as relevant as the objections he had raised earlier concerning its impact on the already fragile state of the government&rsquo;s finances. The landmark Bill, now before the parliamentary standing committee, aims at providing a statutory right to about 64 per cent of the country&rsquo;s population to highly subsidised grain &mdash; Rs 3 per kg for rice, Rs 2 for wheat and Rs 1 for coarse grains. Its enforcement is anticipated to swell the annual food subsidy outgo to anywhere between Rs 90,000 crore and Rs 1,00,000 crore, from around Rs 65,000 crore currently.

Listen to Mr Pawar

The Quick Estimates of India&rsquo;s economic growth, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Tuesday, have revised the GDP growth figure for 2010-11 downwards slightly, to 8.4 per cent from 8.5 per cent. This is the figure for the growth in GDP at constant prices; 2010-11 growth in GDP at current prices is much higher, at 17.5 per cent, reflecting an inflationary environment. The downward revision is, fortunately, relatively marginal.

Happy estimates

Even if one were to believe that Coal India&rsquo;s decision to roll back the rise in coal prices was just poll-time politics, it is a decision that signals another step backwards in economic liberalisation. Coal India moved to pricing coal on the basis of the gross calorific value from January 1, which caused, on an average, a 12.5 per cent rise in coal prices. Power producers, state-owned as well as private, said this had started to erode their profitability. Coal India has given in, albeit saying that it will review the situation three months from now. The lobby against the new pricing system was led by state-owned NTPC, the largest thermal power generator, which said its input costs had risen 40 per cent. Under current rules, all non-merchant power plants are free to pass on any rise in input costs to their customers, the state electricity boards and distribution companies.

Yet another rollback

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 487 - Editorial Comment