The drama last week when Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine holds lessons for the proposed gas pipelines to India from Iran and Turkmenistan, and for our entire energy strategy. Typically, Russia has supplied gas to neighbours (like Ukraine, […]
Pipeline lessons from Ukraine Read More »
Noting can empower poor people more than a good education. So I welcomed the launch of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education For All) in 2001. This aims to have all children aged 6-14 in primary school by 2007 and in upper
Pitfalls of universal education Read More »
Few readers know that India is the world’s second largest producer of aquaculture (fish and shellfish). Fishing was once dominated by ocean fisherfolk, but overfishing has led to virtual stagnation of the sea catch in the last decade. Meanwhile inland
Convert canals to fisheries Read More »
The first green revolution has run its course. Cereal yields are rising very slowly, water tables are plunging, and agricultural growth now averages only 2% annually. However, optimists think a second green revolution is coming, spearheaded by the corporate sector
A second green revolution? Read More »
For years, Indian businessmen have complained that they cannot compete internationally because of costly electricity. However, electricity prices globally are shooting up, mainly because natural gas prices are going through the roof. In consequence, Indian companies with captive coal mines
New comparative advantage in power Read More »
In search of energy security the Petroleum Minister has scoured the world for gas and oil deals, including stakes in oilfields abroad. Alas, such purchases could mean insecurity, not security. Many countries do not respect contracts, and India should reduce
Avoid unreliable energy suppliers Read More »
As the Bombay Sensex bobs up and down, I am amused by explanations emanating from stockbrokers. Some attribute fluctuations to the latest quarterly results, others to the ups and down of oil prices, still others to Indian economic and political
How China makes the Sensex Boom Read More »
Is the tide turning against India? It ran a current account deficit of $ 6.2 billion in April-June 2005, against a surplus of $ 3.3 billion in the same quarter last year. This represents an annualized current account deficit of
Welcome the current account deficit Read More »
When Finance Minister Chidambaram attended the annual IMF-World Bank meeting at the end of September, he had a minor scrap with the IMF Chief Economist, Raghuram Rajan, over record oil and gas prices. Rajan said that rising global demand, especially
How greens raise oil prices Read More »
The UN Committee on the oil-for-food scandal in Iraq, popularly called the Volcker Committee, has revealed that Iraq collected kickbacks on $ 64.2 billion of oil and $ 34.5 billion of “humanitarian imports”. The Indian media have focused on the
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