The Times of India

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 […]

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

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

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

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

India’s decision to vote against Iran in the UN has brought protests from left parties and media. They say India is abandoning its independent foreign policy. I am amazed by the mendacity and hypocrisy of such talk. It implies that

Several reasons, some bogus and some real, have been advanced for the rise in prices of oil and gas since 2003. These include the Iraq war, constrained OPEC production, falling non-OPEC production, speculation by hedge funds, and China’s fast-rising consumption.

Oil prices have gone through the roof this year. Yet inflation remains modest, and in recent weeks has decelerated. Year-on-year inflation was just 3.08% in the latest week for which data are available (ending August 20). This contrasts with 6.5%

The shahtoosh shawl is the most prized of all, beloved of Mughal emperors. It is very warm, yet to soft and fine that it passes through a ring. But buying a shahtoosh shawl today is illegal, and the industry is

Bihar is among the poorest, most misgoverned states. More Plan funds or public sector projects are not remedies. The state was India’s industrial heartland in the 1950s, boasting the giant Tata complex at Jamshedpur and Dalmia-Jain complex at Rohtas. Bihar