Page 167 - Opinion Specials

Irom Sharmila to run for CM: Politics' gain or activism' loss?

The activist wants become Manipur CM after 20 years of civil disobedience against AFSPA. Will it mean a new political movement towards her cause to end AFSPA?

RBI policy mildly positive, but here are three key issues to monitor

Gopal Sarma & Deepak Jain: Construction in the time of crisis

Claims takeout funds and interest subvention can shore up construction companies challenged by massive unpaid claims

Enda Curran: China's Marshall Plan

The project to build rail, highways, ports will likely embolden China's soft power status during a time of political uncertainty in the US and EU

Mihir S Sharma: Rohith Vemula's timeless timeline

Will drones help farmers?

Damage assessment due to natural calamities needs upgrade

Somasekhar Sundaresan: Execution will be key to success

It is odd to have a cap on tax rates as a feature of the Constitution, as demanded by the Congress on GST

Algo, Colo and a smoking whistle

Ajit Balakrishnan: Indian salaryman: Changing times

The middle class has subtly manoeuvred without any strikes or protests for a share of the economic pie. Will this change soon?

Fly-by-night problems

Better regulation of deposit schemes a must

Why is PM Modi frantic to win back some Dalit love?

Most states that have elections due next year have a sizeable Dalit population; also, the BJP and Sangh Parivar are keen to distance themselves from criminal elements

Shubho Roy & Ajay Shah: How to build tax administration

The CBDT must be seen as a mini-state and held at an arm's length from the finance ministry

Devangshu Datta: A contentious saga of tax reform ends

The finance minister reckons the GST could be rolled out by April 2017. This might be optimistic, given the amount of legislative coordination required. Whenever GST does come into force, some chaos i

A K Bhattacharya: Revenue headcount spike at odds with GST

With the staff strength of the revenue department increasing by 84 per cent in the last one year, questions are bound to be raised over its cost effectiveness

Debashis Basu: Ruling democracy vs serving democracy

The objective and provisions of many of our laws were not designed for democracy

Satyavrat Mishra: Nitish's liquor law uncorks dissent all over

A draconian prohibition Bill passed by the Bihar legislature is being seen as the CM's turn from a benefactor to punitive patriarch

M Ramachandran: Urban reform in the liberalisation era

Much more remains to be done to make life and living better for our urban residents. The earlier these issues are addressed, the better managed our cities will become

Premvir Das: India and the South China Sea

Since half of India's overseas trade passes through the South China Sea, freedom of navigation in these waters, and peace and tranquility in the region is important to us

Through a glass darkly

The taste of wine lies in the glass

The Framingham Classic Riesling 2013 (Rs 3,109 in Bengaluru) is a classic New Zealand off-dry style wine, with rich fruit and aromas of lemons and mandarin and stone fruit with a long mineral finish