If stock market and interest-rate spreads are to be believed, America&rsquo;s economy has seen the worst and may be on its way to a slow recovery. But the troubles for the world economy are just starting. If globalisation does not get the fix it needs, economic prospects will be dim for rich and poor countries alike.

Dani Rodrik: The bumpy road ahead

Business Standard

Energy usage rising at more than double the pace of farm productivity, as it did in 1970-2005, is no longer an option.

Surinder Sud: Energise your farm's future

There is little doubt the process needs quickening, but project-affected-persons have to be heard, even encouraged to present their point of view cogently.

"Should environmental approvals be speeded up?"


Ad hoc policies on pricing and utilisation are resulting in a messy gas market where neither offtake nor equitable development is assured, warns Latha Jishnu
What can be worse for a fast-growing economy than not having its own energy resources? To have plenty of this natural resource and make a complete hash of its utilisation! Since the discovery of a rich lode of natural gas in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin in 2002, gas has become synonymous with controversy, and there is no aspect

Latha Jishnu: No policy, it's so much gas

The recent general election results have provided the continuity and stability needed for India to pursue its development goals. However, niggling doubts have been expressed about our collective will to pursue wide-ranging reforms.

Jaimini Bhagwati: Getting the right people

Late-night snacking is just emotional eating, says Dr Shikha Sharma, the &ldquo;nutritionist&rdquo; (&ldquo;weight loss guru&rdquo; can be so politically incorrect), whose words I pay heed to but do not follow. Sharma is right. Nothing else can explain the quantities of Pringles (and beer) consumed in our house watching the tragi-comic T-20 saga.

Late-night pangs

I have visited the mountains of Himachal Pradesh several times over the last few years. My destination has usually been the apple orchard country of Kotgarh district, which is tucked away behind a hairpin bend on the road to Narkanda, amid some of the most beautiful spruce forest anywhere in the world. Getting to Kotgarh involves taking the train to Kalka, the railhead at the foot of the hills, and then driving for six hours.

Apology to the Queen

Forget all those theories about the passive, fatalist Indian, long peddled by commentators, both home-grown and foreign. If recent survey data are to be believed, Indians are among the most optimistic people on earth, and this is true of consumers, investors, business managers&hellip;the whole spectrum.

T N Ninan: The sunny Indian

The views of the Lalgarh siege are largely determined by what the media considers the essence of the confrontation. We have seen pictures of torched CPI(M) buildings with the trademark hammer and sickle going up in flames, Maoists (angry villagers?) on the rampage, a chilling shot of a corpse outside the party office, the paramilitary forces in action &mdash; in combat positions and clean-up operations (men being dragged out of homes and taken into custody).

Latha Jishnu: Dealing with bow and arrow

If the Chinese government has its way, the sexual proclivities of the grandchildren of the revolution will be remoulded. As of July 1, every personal computer sold in the PRC must ship with pre-installed censorship software called &ldquo;Green Dam Youth Escort&rdquo;.

Devangshu Datta: China's Great (Fire)Wall

The renowned Indian political strategist, Chanakya (350-283 BC) had once remarked: &ldquo;Taxation should not be a painful process for the people. There should be leniency and caution while deciding the tax structure. Ideally, governments should collect taxes like a honeybee, which sucks just the right amount of honey from the flower so that both can survive.

Nishith M Desai: Driving investment away

Despite the overall decay in academic and administrative functioning of the Viswa Bharati University, the art department, Kala Bhavan, still has quite a formidable reputation and many serious art students from India and increasingly from the Far East consider themselves fortunate if they can get to study here.

Keya Sarkar: Simply priceless

I went to my son&rsquo;s room last night, when he was chatting on the net, and asked him to open a flight reservation site. &ldquo;I have a mandate to tell you that our home should not be used as a state of permanent residence by temporary guests, so please make a flight reservation for your grandmother&rsquo;s departure for Sunday.

Kishore Singh: Mother of all laws

As you are aware, I do not belong to the category of those great leaders who can contest and win elections from anywhere in the country. I have been rooted in one constituency, Hazaribagh, ever since I entered politics.

Let the party implement its own Kamraj Plan

Probably for the first time under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, 174 workers in Jharkhand&rsquo;s Khunti district received Rs 2.61 lakh as compensation.

Sreelatha Menon: When delayed wages mean more wages

Have money, will spend. If that was the mantra of India Inc in better times, it&rsquo;s a no-brainer that the opposite will be equally true when money is difficult to find. With the global recession wreaking havoc in every corner of the marketing business, expensive and glitzy award shows can&rsquo;t be an exception.

India's day out at Cannes

It is high time people gave up the tendency to run down India's public sector and commend the private sector by contrast. In the aftermath of the 2008 Wall Street meltdown and the tsunami waves that it sent across the world, our private sector started sending distress signals. Its image was further dented by the Satyam scandal. But the public sector, in contrast, stood up magnificently. No lay-offs, no wage-cut, no dividend skipping, but still better working results on the whole.

Nitish Sengupta: Public sector - the shooting star

The near-collapse of the financial system was supposed to have reminded the world about the hazards of chasing short-term gains at the expense of long-term stability. Another lesson we keep relearning is that investors&rsquo; memories are short.

Jonathan Weil: Hedge fund&#39;s instant IPO tests the new complacency

Infrastructure-related stocks are on everybody's radar.

Policy to guide infra growth

State governments collaborating with musicians may help budding talent in India.

Checking the scene

India promoted Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to accelerate economic development by creating islands of investments that were provided preferential treatment in terms of facilities and taxes. The initial objective was to promote exports but this has effectively expanded to include growth and employment in general.

Mahesh Vyas: SEZs aren't delivering, time to scrap the scheme

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