The new Bill will set back the cause of food security - while wrecking central finances.

Not a grain of sense

Business Standard

Lessons from the Iraq war, a bloody and comprehensive foreign-policy failure.

An untidy freedom

There is much more that the government can do to track money hidden abroad.

Indian money gone global

Indian-Russia trade needs to expand beyond traditional sectors of engagement: defence and space.

Earthbound relations

The Lok Pal Bill needs more engaged debate. Don&rsquo;t expect Hazare agitation to provide it.

And now to the House

The price of e-governance is careful oversight of cyber security.

Hacking the sarkar

Moody&rsquo;s upgrade should start a long-overdue correction.

Much to account for

&lsquo;Canalising&rsquo; iron ore exports is not a solution to illegal mining.

Major miner problems

The Dow Olympic sponsorship controversy tests the level of ethics in the big-bucks sports industry.

No logo 

On Friday, at the annual meeting of a chamber of commerce in New Delhi, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee spoke sharply of what he implied was Indian industry&rsquo;s unhelpful attitude. Complaining about government inaction was getting to be too much, he said: &ldquo;If we have problems, it is for us to solve them. Merely reiterating the distressed condition is not going to help us.

Shooting the messenger

An old saying goes: &ldquo;If you owe thousands, you have a problem; if you owe crores, the bank has a problem.&rdquo;&nbsp; By that logic, the banking sector, and indeed the entire financial sector, has a big problem. Collectively, it &ldquo;owns&rdquo; several lakh crores in impaired assets. There have already been some spectacular disasters. The bill for GTL is Rs 22,000 crore. Air India &ldquo;needs&rdquo; Rs 30,000 crore. Kingfisher Airlines owes Rs 6,500 crore &mdash; and State Bank of India (SBI) is working on how to &ldquo;help&rdquo; it. Many other companies in the &ldquo;too-big-to-fail&rdquo; category are also restructuring, or verging on default. In all, over Rs 26,000 crore is under consideration for restructuring at the moment. The power sector is a particularly egregious offender. By March 2010, banks had exposures of over Rs 58,000 crore in doubtful loans to state utilities alone.

Credit where it isn't due

Instead of allowing firms to avoid marking foreign-exchange losses to market, regulators must increase clarity.

Costly accounting

Digitisation of cable TV should not be derailed. If it hurts operators, increased FDI is the way out.

Subscribing to digital

Its own report should remind the RBI there&rsquo;s no room for complacency about the stability of India&rsquo;s financial system.

Fearing financial feedback

Pakistan establishment is more polarised than ever, making it less likely that the state&rsquo;s problems will be addressed.

Divide and fail 

The passage of the Lok Pal Bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday night was a sign of Parliament reasserting its authority. The Bill&rsquo;s fate in the Rajya Sabha is uncertain, but there were many points of note raised during the Lok Sabha debate by the members who spoke, some with great eloquence. The attention, therefore, was focused on the House.

All eyes on the Bill

The rural job guarantee scheme must not be allowed to distort skilling incentives further.

Redesign with skill

Telecom spectrum is lying unutilised. The industry needs a transparent system of auctions, mergers and exit.

A more mobile sector

Surging demand for edible oil has not induced a supply response. Govt has forgotten the lessons of the 1980s.

Another Yellow Revolution

Under pressure to take action before the G20 summit this week in the south of France, the leaders of the European Union (EU), led by Germany and France, adopted a set of measures to deal with the Greek debt crisis and the potential Europe-wide debt crisis. These are half-hearted measures that can, at best, provide a breather in a race that is far from having been run. Europe has a long way to go before it can get on top of the crisis and gain control of its destiny.

Halfway house

It was almost inevitable that some commentators would describe India&rsquo;s inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix as an inappropriate event in a country that still qualifies for lower middle-income status. Certainly, it is difficult to ignore the contrast between the unabashed capitalism demonstrated by this 65-year-old tournament and the abysmal human development record of Uttar Pradesh, the state in which the event was hosted. The observation may be valid, but to focus exclusively on this issue is to miss the useful takeaways from an event that has done India&rsquo;s global reputation no harm.

An elusive formula

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 529 - Editorial Comment