Columnists-Opinion-The Economic Times

How social media empowers farmers

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:32:24 GMT

Now, farmers are spreading the word, whether personal or business, through email, SMS, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs.

Both democracy and capitalism give freedom to choose

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:27:27 GMT

Capitalism empowers people though the freedom to choose what to buy or produce. Freedom to choose is a high moral principle.

Falling rupee: Severe economic headwinds coming your way

Mon, 21 May 2012 02:34:05 GMT

If you think that the rising mercury and falling rupee is bad enough, far more severe economic headwinds are coming your way.

Wheat crisis is the result of government's policy paralysis

Mon, 21 May 2012 01:12:39 GMT

Tied into knots by political compulsion, government has inflated the food subsidy bill, widened the fiscal deficit, and allowed grain to rot.

Politics wins over economics in India

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:28:23 GMT

Received wisdom has it that public expenditure levels in any economy are determined by economic and demographic parameters.

Trai needs a roadmap for large-scale spectrum-sharing

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:51:16 GMT

In this age of digital technologies and instant communication, we clearly need proactive policy that is innovative and forward-looking.

Those who revere authority, oppose reforms preserve the caste system

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:25:57 GMT

Those who criticise cartoons are all casteists, whether they realise this or not, whether they swear by Ambedkar or at him.

Murdoch aide Brooks charged in phone-hacking scandal

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:16:41 GMT

Brooks, former editor of News of the World, has been formally charged by the UK's crown prosecution service in the phone-hacking investigation.

Economic crisis in Europe, is now a full-blown political crisis

Mon, 14 May 2012 01:52:14 GMT

Hollandaise is the new flavour in Germany, and I've lost count of how many governments in Europe have been decimated.

Markets can trump voters in a globalised world

Thu, 10 May 2012 01:08:00 GMT

Voters in some eurozone countries have rebuffed politicians wanting to impose stringent austerity measures on them.

How Guar seed's shortage seeded greed and panic

Wed, 09 May 2012 22:13:33 GMT

The commodity market has been rocked by furore over a scam in what your subziwallah calls gwar ki phalli after prices shot up 420% in the last seven months.

Indians haven't learnt to think strategically in terms of foreign policy

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:28:50 GMT

Every time India signs a multilateral agreement it gives up autonomy for rule-bound membership of an association.

Indian way, not Norway

Sun, 06 May 2012 22:40:43 GMT

The question that nobody in Indian media has asked, is why Norway did not, as should have been done, provide counselling and help to the parents of a special-needs child, instead of taking the kids away.

Funnelling money into PSBs to recapitalise them gross misuse of taxpayer money

Sun, 06 May 2012 21:26:13 GMT

Ever since the country accepted the Basel norms of capital adequacy, successive finance ministers have provided money to capitalise banks in their Budgets.

Eurozone crisis: No long rope for Europe

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:40:20 GMT

If half the developed world sinks into a deeper financial hole, it drags down even the top-growth countries in Asia.

June is the right time for tough reforms

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 04:59:28 GMT

S&P's has cut India's credit outlook to negative and warned of a one-in-three chance of a downgrade to junk status within the next 24 months.

Banks can game the system by reducing risk-weight of assets

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 01:21:51 GMT

Information assymetry between banks, supervisors and market participants regarding how risky RWA are can, in fact, lead to increased uncertainty about the adequacy of bank capital.

The convoluted provisions of the Finance Bill

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:23:04 GMT

While the retrospective amendments have been much spoken about, this isn't the only provision that is causing strife to taxpayers.

Higher inflation is here to stay

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:57:42 GMT

All too often, it is assumed that inflation is an evil - and the higher the inflation, the greater the evil. These are serious misconceptions.

Where to store wheat, grain-rotting season nears

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:38:24 GMT

When June rains hit northern India, they will soak 2.5 million tonnes of wheat in burlap sacks lying in the open with a tarpaulin for cover.

Where to store wheat, grain-rotting season nears

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:38:24 GMT

When June rains hit northern India, they will soak 2.5 million tonnes of wheat in burlap sacks lying in the open with a tarpaulin for cover.

Telecom pricing: India's future prosperity at stake

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:19:24 GMT

What is at stake is not some additional government revenue or the finances of a handful of telcos, but cognitive empowerment of generations of Indians.

Right to Education Act threatens education

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:02:16 GMT

State governments should ignore the RTE Act's provision to close private schools that do not measure up to desirable but unrealistic standards.

House of Lords reform bill: Will it change things?

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:41:01 GMT

Frankly, nobody in the rest of the world cares a hang about how Brits make their laws internally - everyone knows it's realpolitik.

Mgmt accounting gaining importance in the era of globalisation

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:40:45 GMT

Cost and management accountants are to businesses what structural engineers are to buildings. They produce the chunks of information.