Ratings agencies perform the critical function of assessing the fundamentals and future prospects of corporate houses that continuously seek to raise money from private investors or the public. That puts the onus on ratings agencies to get their systems of governance right, both within their own companies and the companies they assess. How do they do it? How do they ensure a rating or grading r
India’s current account deficit (CAD) hitting a record high of 4.8% in July and the continuous simultaneous steady plunging of the rupee, which has not bottomed out yet, has become a major source of worry for the country. The depreciation of the rupee (15% against the dollar since January) will result in the cost of future import of goods such as petroleum, coal, and non-essential
Set up in 2007, Central Railside Warehouse Company (CRWC) is a young organisation by public sector standards. Coming under the department of food and public distribution, the ministry of consumer affairs, it develops and constructs warehouses with the railways for storage of food and other products. The idea is to reduce the logistic expenses and benefit industries. Starting with Bangalore, CRW
At the Times of India, where I began my career in business journalism in early 1992, we were called “commerce desk”. The description emanated from the obsolete pre-liberalisation context when even a top newspaper would have only two-three semi-retired folks tracking India’s economic story; one dedicated to reprinting stock quotes from a list telexed by Bombay S
Janmashtami heralds the start of the unrelenting festive season—from now until the end of the year, the spate of festivals includes Ganesh Chaturthi and the multiple Visarjan days, the Navratris, Dusshera, Diwali, Eid, Christmas and New Years (and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few). Though I look upon the impending traffic snarls, deafening cacophony of music and crackers, and bur
The real estate sector is in choppy waters and the RBI’s move is being seen as an attempt to shield the country’s banking structure from grave risks such schemes pose to the financial health of banks. At present, a large number of real estate companies use such schemes to lure buyers. In the 80:20 scheme, for instance, a buyer pays 20 percent of the value of t
Delhi finance and power secretary Shakti Sinha, a 1979 batch IAS officer of AGMUT cadre, has had an exciting three-decade career. He served on the board of World Bank, advising it on several projects related to developing countries, and worked with the Afghanistan government, helping it prepare national development strategies. He also served as joint secretary to former prime minister Atal
All public services are paid for by individual citizens, either directly or indirectly, through taxes. Therefore, they have every right to expect high quality service. That’s why citizen’s charter is important. We have seen nearly two decades of struggle towards implementation of the citizen’s charter. Till 1996, the citizen’s charter was unknown to government de
If any of you woke up this morning to book train tickets for Diwali for a vacation back home, this blog might be catharsis. You logged in to irctc.co.in at 8 am to book your tickets – not for anything but lack of choice – and waited till 8.30 am to see the face of the `plan my travel` page, only to realise that all tickets have been booked and your favourite train is showing the sta
As the rupee continues to hit new lows, economists and corporate honchos continue to predict deteriorating economic performance and politicians continue to fight over reforms like there is no tomorrow, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended revamping the banking structure to further strengthen the backbone of our economy. The apex bank has reiterated the need to seriously and u
A note prepared by the National Alliance for People`s Movements on August 29, the day the Lok Sabha passed the land bill: The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 is being discussed in Lok Sabha right now [it was passed later in the day]. There has not been any consensus on the Bill yet the UPA government is bringing the Bill. In some cases the new Bill
Amitabh Kant, CEO and MD, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited, tells Governance Now how the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor development corporation (DMICDC) is implementing the country`s most ambitious project: the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor. Building 24 cities from scratch along a 1,483-km railway track, if successfully implemented, the corridor will be Indi
The way the political administrations in multiple states are treating Asaram ‘Bapu’, the self-claimed godman/spiritual guru who is alleged to have sexually assaulted a teenager, has given rise to several questions. About not only law enforcement but also law implementation. We live in a democracy that believes in the rule of law. So why is Asaram being treated above law?
Public Money, Private Agenda: The Use And Abuse Of MPLADS By A Surya Prakash Rupa, Rs 395 In the 1970s, corporators of the then Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) gave themselves Rs 50,000 a year. Their idea was that each one of them must have these monies over and above their collective control over the BMC budgets. This they could spend on works that caug
In conversation with Pankaj Kumar, former Punjab director general of police KPS Gill, the man known for eliminating terrorism from Punjab, says what is happening between the two agencies poses a threat to the national security. The CBI is blaming the IB and the two agencies seem to be acting against each other. Don’t you think
From military to corporate sector, ‘scenario planning’ is the in concept now. More so since the 12th five-year plan incorporated possible scenarios to project and forecast the India story. Arun Maira, member of the planning commission and the man behind this idea, stressed on three scenarios so far as the Indian economy is concerned. First, he said, is ‘meddling along&
Dr Arun Gupta, a member of the prime minister’s national council on nutrition, who challenged the market-led solutions provided by the Lancet to tackle the problem of under-nutrition, wonders why the private sector needs to handle issues on the malnutrition front. Edited excerpts: Why are you opposed to this study? We are actually challenging its
The union government is reportedly contemplating changes to the provisions of suspension and transfers of members of all-India services created under Article 312 of the constitution so as to make prior consent of the union government mandatory. In the context of the recent controversy about the suspension of Durga Shakti Nagpal and half a dozen instances of harassment of well-meaning, young and
We talk of social accountability and inclusive democracy through well informed participation; we vouch for facilitating the ideals of transparency and inclusiveness. And yet we don’t pass the Jan Lok Pal bill, instead we make provisions for curtailing the scope of an existing Act by putting across the Right to Information (Amendment) bill with a pace rarely seen otherwise, despite innumer
With the economy on a downswing, entrepreneurial opportunities for young and seasoned innovators alike have got further squeezed. Not that the situation was very rosy to begin with, for there was hardly any fund even earlier to invest in creative ideas of students, self-employed people or professionals who had the big ideas, and sometime even the proof of concept that could make a difference.&n
