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I am amazed at the paranoia and quasi-racism of the uproar in the US over the takeover of six port terminals in that country by DP World (a.k.a. Dubai Ports). P&O of Britain has traditionally run the terminals. When Dubai […]

I am amazed at the paranoia and quasi-racism of the uproar in the US over the takeover of six port terminals in that country by DP World (a.k.a. Dubai Ports). P&O of Britain has traditionally run the terminals. When Dubai

Teacher absence ranges from 20% to over 50% in different states, and makes a mockery of free and universal education. No wonder children drop out in droves, and functional illiteracy is high even for those who complete school. In such

Contrary to what Atal Behari Vajpayee claimed and George Bush now repeats, India and the US are not natural allies. They are, however, natural partners. The distinction is important. India cannot be an ally for because, in its current mood,

Ten years ago, many leftist politicians and economists expressed outrage at the new rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) obliging member-countries to give “national treatment” to foreign industrial corporations. That is, foreign firms operating in a country had to

Last week, I showed how fishermen in Kerala had benefited greatly from cellphones, which enabled them to auction their catch while still at sea, and avoided tragedies where they might land their catch at a shore point where there were

Many observers, ranging from Marxists to Bill Gates, have worried that the rise of information technology (IT), though hugely beneficial, may leave the rural poor even further behind urban folk in incomes and access. Infosys and Wipro may prosper greatly,

What’s a mega-trend? Most new trends are marked by rival claims, with some claiming it’s a revolutionary breakthrough and others saying it is disastrous. But if a new trend grows so rapidly that it becomes commonplace and ceases to make