When a little girl named Topsy is asked in Uncle Tom’s Cabin if she knew who made her, she says, “I expect I grow’d.” Today, Arun Jaitley will declare financial independence when he unveils Budget 2014 without the Planning Commission (PC) breathing down his neck. True, the Budget drafters in the Prime Minister’s Office and…
To begin with, Modi is under microscopic watch and Deng never was. Modi has a good majority in the lower house of Parliament, but that does not mean lawmakers will blindly rubber-stamp his legislative efforts. If you do the arithmetic the National Democratic Alliance stands little chance of a majority in the Rajya Sabha, even…
One of my prized possessions is a fossilised limpet, a kind of sea snail that attaches itself very, very tightly to rocks. The fossil must be hundreds of thousands of years old. It must have been prised off a rock with some force, the kind that is trying to get many of our privileged leaders…
To begin with, Modi is under microscopic watch and Deng never was. Modi has a good majority in the lower house of Parliament, but that does not mean lawmakers will blindly rubber-stamp his legislative efforts. If you do the arithmetic the National Democratic Alliance stands little chance of a majority in the Rajya Sabha, even…
25 May 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited MANILA, May 25, Reuter – The Philippine economy is growing strongly well into the third year of President Corazon Aquino’s rule but growth is accompanied by painful adjustments to make up for years of depression, analysts say. Under Aquino more than 100 state-owned firms have…
17 June 1999 Reuters News English (c) 1999 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, June 17 (Reuters) – India’s Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar said on Thursday the economy was on a high growth path and was expected to grow at over six percent in 1999/2000 (April-March). “The economy is now on a higher growth path. In 1999/2000,…
22 April 1993 Reuters News English (c) 1993 Reuters Limited TOKYO, April 22, Reuters – One of the architects of India’s radical economic reforms said on Thursday the changes sweeping the country were irreversible despite recent religious and political strife. “Now there is no doubt about the permanence and irreversibility of reform. You cannot re-erect…
Or, why India really needs to dig itself out of a mineral hole Last week I was on a flight to Mumbai. About two hours in, the captain announced that there was unseasonal heavy rain ahead and it might be difficult to land in such bad weather. “We have fuel for about fifteen minutes,” he…