The Economic Times

I find myself constantly asked what will happen to the stock market in 2007. I protest that predicting markets astrology more than economics, but in vain. So, here is my astrological forecast for 2007. Taurus, the great bull of the […]

The Sachar Committee has done a good job in putting together data on the Muslim community, and in exposing the many ways in which they suffer deprivation and discrimination. Yet its analysis and recommendations leave much to be desired. The

Traditional sceptics on global warming are becoming believers. Al Gore\’s film \”An Inconvenient Truth\” has convinced many waverers. The Stern report in Britain has just called for urgent action to check global warming. So, the current UN conference on climate

Management guru CK Prahlad is famous for his book “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits.” This shows that the poor, often neglected by corporations as having no purchasing power, can be converted into the

Should iron ore exports be banned? No. Should an export tax be levied on iron ore? No. Should the royalty on ore be raised? Yes, hugely. Should iron ore exploration be opened to the private sector and FDI? Absolutely? Should

For decades, I have argued that police independence and reform are crucial for governance. Public order is intrinsically political and must be handled by the Home minister. But crime detection and prosecution should not be political, and should be done

Politically, the world changed irrevocably on 9/11. Yet from an economic viewpoint 9/11 could be called the day when hardly anything changed. Predictions of economic apocalypse proved laughable wrong. India is averaging 8% GDP growth for the fourth year in

Surprisingly, the dust may soon settle on the pesticides-in-cola issue. Sunita Narain of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Friday that she agreed with this newspaper’s editorial line, that cola drinks should not be banned but should be

Governance matters for economic reform. This was the theme of a lecture by Prof Pranab Bardhan, University of California, at the annual India Policy Forum on Monday organised by NCAER and Brookings. Clearly, good governance aids growth. But in India

Does it matter if the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization ends in failure? The mini-Ministerial round of talks at Geneva missed its June 30 deadline, and no new date or agenda has been set. The lack of seriousness