The Times of India

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

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,

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

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