The Economic Times

This year marks not only the 56th anniversary of Independence but also the 60th anniversary of the Bengal Famine, in which 2.1 million people died. In 1943 the Raj ignored the drought in Bengal, claiming preoccupation with the war effort […]

For years, many people have urged the pruning of government staff. The last Pay Commission spoke of pruning the civil service by 30%. So many will be surprised to learn that India has an exceptionally small bureaucracy by international standards.

As we approach the coming election season, more and more people will climb on to the bandwagon of job quotas for minorities and SCs/STs in the private sector. The Congress party has done just this at its Shimla conclave. Mayawati

As we approach the coming election season, more and more people will climb on to the bandwagon of job quotas for minorities and SCs/STs in the private sector. The Congress party has done just this at its Shimla conclave. Mayawati

The Indian public and press wail endlessly about crimes that go unpunished, from fraud and embezzlement to rape and murder. But one major crime attracts no attention or odium: perjury. The only newspaper column I can recall on this subject

Anybody seeking a brief but expert look at India’s trade performance and prospects should read a new book by T N Srinivasan and Suresh Tendulkar. The title is significant: “Reintegrating India with the World Economy.” We talk about opening up

A visit to Afghanistan is a sobering one. Like most Indians, I celebrated the Taliban’s overthrow. Eighteen months later, the celebration looks premature. In theory, democracy has been restored and reconstruction has begun after two decades of civil war. In

Computer software is India’s fastest-growing and most competitive industry. The global recession of 2001 sent most technology companies the world over into a tailspin. Yet the Indian software industry kept growing by 25 % annually. This was slower than the

Journalists tend to remind readers about their most brilliant, penetrating forecasts which came true. They rarely write about times when their predictions were dismally wrong. Well, here is an entire column about how badly wrong journalists went in Iraq. Let

For years, the World Bank, IMF and Indian observers (including me) have warned that India’s fiscal deficit is too high and will soon lead to disaster. So too did Martin Wolf and Ed Luce in a recent article in The