The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, June 16, 2005

Ads and drugs
IN THE PAST, medicines were either prescription drugs or those bought over the counter (OTC), mostly for minor everyday aches and pains. The former were called `ethical'; it was unethical for the manufacturer to advertise them to the consumer and ... More

AGRICULTURE

Monsoon worries — No threat to food security
The performance of the farm sector in 2004-05 was below-average because of the uneven distribution of monsoons across agro-climatic zones. This phenomenon may well recur in the months ahead. But, as there are enough stocks of wheat and rice to last t ill the next season, the impression that imports may have to be resorted to because of monsoon failure is baseless, points out G. Srinivasan. More

ACCOUNTANCY

Redundant enough to be withdrawn
R. Anand on the Irani Committee recommendations on public deposits More

Make `apples-to-apples' financial comparisons using XBRL tags
I'VE NEVER turned over a fig leaf yet that didn't have a price tag on the other side, said Saul Bellow. But this week's piece is about letting accounts turn a new leaf with different tags. Let me begin with what not many accountants may ... More

We may lose count of committees
Mohan R. Lavi on the recommendations about changes to the company law provisions on accounting More

Capture truth with its two limbs, validity and authenticity
IN THE spider-web of facts, many a truth is strangled. With this quote of Paul Eldridge begins the discussion on `the need for accountability' in Zina O'Leary's The Essential Guide to Doing Research, from Vistaar Publications ... More

POLITICS

A blow to the BJP body politic?
GENERALLY, Hinduism is considered to be a liberal and modern religion but the transition from Hinduism to Hindutva is often another story, and factors such as doggedness, intolerance and inflexibility creep in, as the BJP President, Mr L. K. ... More

TRENDS

Spellbound and speechless!
MOST will agree that the greatest gift India got from the British Raj is the English language. From Rabindranath Tagore to Srinivasa Sastri, from R. K. Narayan to Arundhati Roy, we have produced masters who have carved a niche in the English ... More

CARTOON