The Hindu Business Line : Monday, May 15, 2006

Unsettling
As an old timer who had seen India before and after it became an independent Republic, as one brought up in the administrative culture and social environment of West Bengal, and as one who spent close to two ... More

WIDE CANVAS

A Marxist triumph in Bengal
What precisely has changed to give the Left Front in West Bengal such a solid mandate this time around, to decisively reverse a 10-year trend? "I am in favour of Socialism. It is the best social order. But, in the present situation, if we have to develop, we have no other alternative but to woo capitalists." More

ON THE MOVE

Kolkata metro must change track
The Kolkata metro should be de-linked from the Indian Railways and reconstituted into a separate company with accent on the way it is run in other parts of the world. It should, preferably, be integrated with the new east-west underground system bein g planned for the city. More

A RINGSIDE VIEW

Flow of money is the key
Government handling of cement price issue keenly watched More

MUTUAL CONFIDENCE

MF distributors' new code: Still more can be done
Certain sections within distribution circles follow practices that are sometimes in their own interest and not necessarily in the interest of their clients More

ADR WATCH

IT counters see sharp correction
Wipro, MTNL biggest losers by over 7%; Sify, Rediff.com end positive More

VISION 2020

The price of reservation
For every transaction, there has to be entries on both sides of the ledger. A price has to be paid for the gains made by reservation. What is the price the beneficiaries of reservation pay? One price they have paid is lowered quality of education in state-run schools, inferior opportunities to learn; in consequence, endemic poverty too. Is that price worth paying, wonders P. V. INDIRESAN. More

ERRORS & OMISSIONS EXPECTED

On Indian CAs looking for jobs in Kabul
`Suryanarayana was killed on Pak orders: Taliban,' CNN-IBN, India - three hours ago, reads a news feed at the time of writing this. Unfolding news, and more will be known on this in due course. So, let me take you back by a couple of weeks, to ... More

RANDOM WALK

New rule, fresh agenda
The new government of Kerala should cash in on its current popularity and goodwill to quickly and decisively lay the foundations of industrial growth and socio-economic development. More

CHAT

Compass is no bigger than thy head
Reading International Herald Tribune, Khan wondered if Dow 12,000 sounded too good to be true. Sridevi smiled wryly at how Vietnam and US reached a deal on WTO. Dakshinamoorthy sat analysing Tamil Nadu election results. But Jogin SMS-ed them ... More

JOTTINGS

Where politics and business meet
Politics broke into our lives conspicuously last week with elections in five States. Familiar themes and debates surfaced again about national parties being a dying species and coalitions even at the State level as the likely future. In Tamil ... More

AMERICAN PERISCOPE

Corruption — here, there, everywhere
Whether it is a democracy or an autocracy, whether it is a rich or a poor country, people in power are tempted to use that clout for personal gain. The US has set up a formalised system of lobbying to regulate this connection between those who make t he laws and those affected by them. More