P>Karnataka can breathe half a sigh of relief as after two coalitions in four years, the assembly elections have thrown up a clear winner, the BJP.

Editorial: Morale booster for BJP

Business Standard

P>The UPA government completed four years in office last week, on which occasion it released a comprehensive report of its activities and achievements during its tenure.

Editorial: Gains vs. aspirations

P>The government's decision to lean on primary steel producers to fight inflation while doing precious little to curb iron ore prices has produced an anomalous situation.

Editorial: Impractical controls

P>Is the wholesale price index rising at around 8 per cent annually as the official data suggest it is, or is it trundling along at a more sober 4.5-5 per cent as a recent study by the International Monetary Fund's (IMF's) India office suggests? The difference is critical since, if inflation is genuinely down to a comfortable level, the government's panic reactions are uncalled for.

Editorial: Inflationary data

P>The State Bank of India's decision to raise interest rates for deposits and last week's sharp decline in the stock prices of many banks have focused attention on the banking sector.

Editorial: Banks in discomfort

P>Since the time the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) with large tax concessions were first proposed several years ago, most economists have been pointing out that the scheme would result in large tax losses as existing units would migrate to these exclusive zones.

Editorial: Labour pains

P>The successful landing of the US spacecraft Phoenix on Mars may prove a watershed in man&#39;s quest for knowledge about the universe, especially the solar system and its planets.

Editorial: Phoenix on Mars

The successful launch of the Indian Premier League by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Friday at Bangalore marks a watershed in the history of the game, and could well re-define its future

Editorial: Cricket de-nationalised

Last Thursday evening, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did what many people had been expecting; it raised the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points in two stages. The measure is expected to suck

Editorial: Expected response

Two private sector banks have announced their quarterly results for the January-March period.Both Yes and Axis have reported handsome increases in profit, and substantial business growth.

Editorial: The Axis example

P>In recent weeks, the attention of the nation seems to be largely riveted on issues such as inflation, political realignments and posturing in the backdrop of impending state and general elections, meltdown in equity and real estate markets, and the Indian Premier League.

Arvind Singhal: Indian Retail - An Update

P>The robust performance of food and non-food crops in 2007-08, as reflected in the latest crop estimates released by Krishi Bhawan, should provide relief to an inflation-battered economy as also to a government struggling to deal with the high prices of essential items.

Editorial: Mercifully, a good harvest

P>The annual announcement of the monetary and credit policy for 2008-09 will be made by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tomorrow, amidst heightened anxiety about the inflationary situation in the country.

Editorial: No double-whammy, please

P>From a humble beginning with the launch of a sounding rocket to study gravity waves in 1963, the Indian space programme has come of age by successfully placing a record 10 satellites in orbit in a single go through its multi-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C9, from Sriharikota.

Editorial: Technology demonstration

P>It has been several days since the minister for shipping, road transport and highways, TR Baalu, admitted that he had asked his Cabinet colleague in the petroleum ministry to help him get cheap gas allocated to his sons&#39; firms (the subsidised gas is available at $1.96 per million btu or British thermal units, as opposed to the free market price of up to eight times that amount).

Editorial: Of ministerial subsidies

P>The annual announcement of monetary and credit policy by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come amidst a rather complicated macro-economic situation.

Editorial: Balancing act

P>In 2001, the defence ministry opened the door for the private sector in defence production, but the welcome has been less than wholehearted.

Editorial: 49ers in defence?

The recent gyrations of the stock market, which have pulled prices down by nearly 25 per cent from their all-time highs in January, can no longer be seen in isolation from the real economy. The role

Will investment suffer?

The finance ministry has proposed raising the public shareholding limit for listed companies to at least 25 per cent, from the existing 10 per cent. Indeed, the floor used to be 25 per cent until

Welcome move

The finance ministrys Economic Survey for 2007-08, tabled in Parliament yesterday, represents a significant and welcome change in focus. In recent years, as the number of government economic reports

Eco Survey: Welcome change in focus

Any Budget can be evaluated on a number of criteria. Here, briefly, is a check-list of benchmarks by which today's pronouncements can be scored. First, from the perspective of the finance ministry's

Budget 2008: Assessing the Budget

Incisive columns and editorial comment by top opinion leaders

Page 601 - Editorial Comment