The Times of India

Indian visitors to China are overwhelmed by skyscrapers, flyovers and expressways. China is leaving India far behind. Yet, in one unexpected respect, India is far ahead. Both countries have a proud architectural heritage. India\’s pride is the Taj Mahal, a […]

Remember the book Every-body Loves a Drought, exposing how many vested interests benefit from drought relief? We need another book titled Everybody Loves Farm Suicides. Politicians love suicides. These helped the Congress to win the recent Andhra Pradesh election. They

For months, the media have been replete with reports of suicides of farmers in Andhra Pradesh, and now in Maharashtra too. The unstated assumption is that suicide hardly occurs unless caused by acute financial distress. Not so. Suicide is frighteningly

Armchair theorists in Delhi and Mumbai interpret the last general election as a revolt of rural masses bypassed by the information technology (IT) revolution. They voted for a new regime with a human face. This theory owes much to the

The big picture emerging from the budget is substantial continuity in economic policy, notwithstanding rhetoric about a new electoral mandate. The Left Front has not captured the government, as was feared by investors fleeing the stock market on May 17.

Will finance minister Chidambaram produce another dream budget? Will he transform bears into bulls on the stock market? Such questions leave me smiling at two major illusions pervading our society. The smaller illusion is that the stock market is the

Of all the surprises to come out of general election, the most delightful one is that Narendra Modi might be ousted as chief minister of Gujarat. Two years ago, when he won the Gujarat state elections by a landslide, Modi

The myopia of the most intelligent politicians never ceases to amaze me. Many chief ministers have interpreted the results of the general election as an irresistible voter demand for free power for farmers. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have lowered

My dear Chidambaram, I hear you are asking around for Big Ideas for the budget. Obviously you want to try and repeat your performance in 1997, when your budget was hailed as a dream budget. In 1997, businessmen were ecstatic

When a gentleman living beyond his means proposes suddenly to spend a fortune to acquire a human face, those investing in his enterprise will be understandably nervous. No wonder the stock market crashed by 223 points on Friday, wiping out