Opinion
Appeal
The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.China, India & The Us Jostle For Space In Asian Waters
Over the last few decades, the importance of maritime security in the Asia-Pacific region has drastically increased. The sea lines of communication (SLOCs) that connect nations throughout Asia are critically important due to the flow of vital resources and trade goods that nations rely on to sustain their economic...
India Can Get Up To $90 Billion In 2 Years: FinMin
NEW DELHI: The finance ministry has received feedback that the Indian capital markets could witness $20-25 billion inflows on the pessimistic side and $80-90 billion on the optimistic side in the next two years, from the newly announced category of qualified foreign investors (QFIs) route. QFIs include foreign individuals,...
Mukesh Steps On The Gas
MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani is upping the ante on investment and growth projections for his flagship Reliance Industries (RIL) even in the backdrop of what he has termed two unprecedented economic shocks in the last five years. Seemingly unperturbed by the regular run-ins with the petroleum ministry and the regulators,...
House Panel Wants CSR Mandatory In Companies Bill
NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel has recommended the Companies Bill make it mandatory for companies above a particular turnover or net worth threshold to allocate two per cent of their net profit towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). Parliament’s standing committee on finance, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant...
Power Demand Math Goes Horribly Wrong
NEW DELHI: Soaring demand for electricity has thrown the summer plans of power distribution companies into a tizzy. Electricity demand has risen by up to a quarter in the past two months against the anticipated 10-15% rise, adding to the woes of utilities who were already struggling with a...
Pension Bill Put Off To Appease TMC
NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Thursday deferred the long-awaited legislation on pension reforms for fear of upsetting a key ally, in a clear indication that implementing economic reforms would be far from easy in the absence of a political consensus. On Wednesday, the prime minister had presided over...
Anna-Baba Team May Not Click
By Kalyani Shankar Social reformer Anna Hazare and the Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev have come together to fight against corruption and have shown their combined strength on June 4 in the capital. In the scorching June sun supporters of these two ventured to go to Jantar Mantar to attend...
Ministers Want Manmohan To Go At CWC Meeting
By Nora Chopra Change the game or perish was the underline theme of the Congress CWC held on June 4. Immense pressure has mounted on Sonia Gandhi to replace Manmohan Singh with Rahul Gandhi. The mood at the gathering was, in fact, for the Party and against the Government,...
Discoms Skipping Open Market Spells Dark Days
NEW DELHI: New Delhi: Cash-strapped power distribution companies (discoms) have steeply cut purchase of costly power from the open market, in what could lead to a higher incidence of load shedding across the country and crimp industrial units at a time the economic growth has slowed to a nine-year...
Inter-Ministerial Panel To Finalise Norms For MNC Buys In Drug Companies
NEW DELHI: The government has formed an inter-ministerial panel for finalising guidelines for allowing MNCs to buy equity stakes in Indian drug companies, as it seeks to end the regulatory uncertainty that is holding up clearances of such proposals. An eight-member ‘Special Group’, headed by an additional secretary in...
Government Has No Business To Be In Business, PM Must Accept Reality: Narendra Modi
NEW DELHI: The chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to accept the fact that the economy was in the throes of a major crisis while lashing out at the Congress-led UPA government for sending “enforcement agencies” after business houses with investments inGujarat. “Firstly,...
PM Sets Infra Ball Rolling
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday sought to send a strong signal the government meant business by outlining an ambitious agenda to put infrastructure projects on the fast track. At a high-level inter-ministerial meeting chaired by him, Singh said the initiatives were part of efforts to pull...
Cabinet likely to take up PFRDA Bill today
NEW DELHI: For now, the government seems determined to carry out financial sector reforms, at least those on the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill and the insurance Bill. The Cabinet, which had deferred the PFRDA Bill in December 2011, is likely to take it up tomorrow....
News Corp to buy ESPN's 50% stake in ESPN STAR Sports
MUMBAI: Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has agreed to acquire the 50% it does not own in its Asian sports TV joint venture, ESPN STAR Sports (ESS), bringing to an end a 16-year-old relationship which, among other things, dominates cricket broadcast in the sub-continent. A unit of News Corporation will...
Power Ministry Looks At Higher Fuel Cost Pass Through To Customer
NEW DELHI: New bids for power projects are likely to allow pass through of fuel costs, but with a caveat. The Power Ministry is planning to further increase the cap on the upward variation of fuel costs. In other words, the bid document will prescribe a percentage beyond which...
RIL Scouts For More Shale Gas Assets
MUMBAI: Reliance Industries (RIL),India’s second largest company by market value, is scouting for more shale gas assets in theUS,CanadaandPoland, investment bankers working on the potential assets said. “RIL is looking for large shale gas assets, which will need investments of anywhere between $500 million and $2 billion,” one of...
India-Built Systems On US Navy's Combat Planes
India’s Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd will deliver the indigenously produced cockpit sub-assembly for the Boeing’s EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. Boeing delivered its first EA-18G to the US Navy earlier this month. The aircraft’s cockpit will receive floodlighting that is compatible with the onboard Night Vision Imaging System...
Massive Military Helicopter Buys Allow For Indigenisation
NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) purchase of 126 Rafale fighters has made global headlines, and the Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) could be another jaw-dropper. But Indian military aviation could see an even more prominent growth area in helicopters, where the defence services are poised to...
