The problem of NPAs points to banks’ vulnerability to political pressure P. Vaidyanathan Iyer, in ‘Govt plans to defuse ticking bank bomb’ (The Indian Express, February 01), deserves congratulations for bringing out in public a proposal to set up an asset reconstruction company (ARC) with equity contribution from the government and the RBI, to deal with the […]
Budget promises more transparency in poll funding. But why anonymous donors? The 2017-18 Union budget had an unusual feature, a section titled “Transparency in Electoral Funding”. Many commentators have hailed it as a positive step. But is it? An interview with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in this newspaper is revealing. He stated: “The present system […]
Because laws do not work, they are worked. The shenanigans of the UP government over the appointment of the Lokayukta (‘How Akhilesh Yadav tried to handpick Lokayukta until Supreme Court cracked down’, The Indian Express, January 12) is merely the proverbial tip of the iceberg. It is common experience that a large proportion of appointments […]
Text: जब से उच्चतम न्यायालय की पांच सदस्यीय पीठ ने संविधान के 99वें संशोधन को असंवैधानिक घोषित करते हुए राष्ट्रीय न्यायिक नियुक्ति आयोग को खारिज किया और कोलेजियम व्यवस्था का पक्ष लिया तब से यह विषय लगातार चर्चा में है। अधिकतर टिप्पणीकारों ने इसे या तो सरकार और न्यायपालिका के बीच का संघर्ष कहा है […]
Suggestions to allow candidates to spend more money in elections are based on a misreading of how parties function on the ground. In a recent article in The Hindu on money and elections – ‘Limited finance limits democracy’ – Pradeep Chhibber and Harsh Shah suggest that more money will mean more, and better, democracy. Their conclusion, possibly, comes from long exposure […]
Disclosures along with the news reports and the lack of them raise some interesting questions. Almost all the leading newspapers on September 26, 2015, carried the news of Facebook rechristening its service Internet.org to Free Basics. However, there were some interesting nuances to the reporting and some related disclosures. What attracted my attention was a […]
Disruptions in Parliament or a stuck GST Bill: What’s bothering India Inc? Industry captains’ petition on change.org won’t be enough to get MPs to work. India and India Inc have come a long way since 1944-45 when eight leading lights of Indian industry (J R D Tata, G D Birla, Ardeshir Dalal, Shri Ram, Kasturbhai […]
Industry captains’ petition on change.org won’t be enough to get MPs to work. India and India Inc have come a long way since 1944-45 when eight leading lights of Indian industry (J R D Tata, G D Birla, Ardeshir Dalal, Shri Ram, Kasturbhai Lalbhai, A D Shorff, Sir Purshottamdas Thakurdas and John Mathai) wrote and […]
संसद के मानसून सत्र में हुए हंगामे और सत्ता पक्ष और विपक्ष में बढ़ते टकराव से देश बहुत चिंतित है। पिछले दिनों इसी पृष्ठ पर आरके सिन्हा ने ‘संसदीय लोकतंत्र को खतरा लेख में लिखा था कि ‘देश में विकास की बयार बहे इसके लिए जरूरी है कि परस्पर संवाद का वातावरण बना रहे। यह […]
