The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, May 11, 2006

FTAs: Stirring the hornet's nest
New Delhi is having a tough time protecting interests of certain industries while keeping the FTA spirit in tact. More

ECONOMY

Youth power in India's resurgence
The senior citizens of today would recall the romanticised view they had of the country's future soon after Independence. The film Rang De Basanti seems to have kindled in the youth the passion to contribute to the country's resurgence. A. VASUDEVAN looks at whether they will be able to make a qualitative difference. More

ACCOUNTANCY

Insurance route to eliminate the perverse incentives of gatekeepers
When space vehicles and sportspersons can have insurance cover, why not financial statements? Aren't auditors the best insurance for financial statements, you may protest? No, say Alex Dontoh, Joshua Ronen and Bharat Sarath, in a research paper ... More

Pursuit of prudence
Nidhi companies need prudential norms More

This SOX hurts
SOX does more harm than good in its present form More

FOREIGN TRADE

INDIA-ASEAN FTA
`Macro benefits, micro pains'
The Prime Minister's recent reiteration of his hope for a pan-Asian FTA set the alarm bells ringing among `protectionist' elements in political parties, and there was dissent from the president of his own party too. Dr Manmohan Singh's fears seem unfounded and shortsighted, as an intra-Asian trade grouping can bring many benefits for India. More

TRENDS

Conquest of time
There is no such thing as lack of time. It is only lack of will. Nobody has more time than anybody else. Time is a democratic and egalitarian resource. Everyone has only 168 hours per week. Irrespective of how ... More

BOOKS

For whom the bell tolls
Responding to demographic shifts is among the biggest challenges of the present century. Timely, therefore, is a new publication from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (www.icai.org), Pension Plans. It covers `key ... More

LETTERS

National Knowledge Commission
This is with reference to the article "Knowledge panel members divided on reservations" (Business Line, May 9). What is the harm if economic criteria, irrespective of caste or religion, is taken as the scale for eligibility in ... More