Economy
Vision 2020 -- Empowering rural India
THE ECONOMY may be growing but the environment is not; it is deteriorating. Developed countries have a phenomenon known as `jobless growth'; developing countries have their own counterpart -- environmentless growth.
Washington Consensus revisited
Mr JOHN Williamson, who in 1990 coined the term `Washington Consensus', has revisited the concept in an interesting article in the World Bank Research Observer, August 2000. Mr Williamson is a distinguished economist, who has written extensively on the s
ubject of economic development. A pleasant interlocutor, he is well known for his ability to elicit consensus from diverse contributors.
Editorial
In a State
AS FAR AS reforms go, many things are disappointingly common among States: The fiscal position is anything but good, the privatisation plans are yet to get off the ground, the investment climate gets bleaker by the day. The list can go o
n.
Miscellaneous
Campus snapshot
ATTENDING the commencement ceremony, or the convocation, of a university in the US is both a rewarding and a revealing experience. If it is a prestigious university, there is more than the usual eclat and excitement associated with such fu
nctions. Since commencement is a defining moment in a young person's journey through life, it is regarded as an imperative obligation for parents to be present as an expression of their legitimate pride and love. No wonder, then, family members tu
rn up in their thousands, many from far off places such as Japan, India, Europe and Africa. They account for three-to-four times the number of the 2,500 students or so taking their degrees. Hence, the celebration is held in a sports stadium, with
a lot of impressive pomp and ceremony, and due solemnity. As a spectacle, it is unmatched in grandeur and the overall impact.
Politics
India and Bush Administration -- Beyond assumptions
SOON after Mr George W. Bush Jr. won the US elections, Indian observers proclaimed quickly that a Republican administration bodes good for India. A Republican administration was expected to not pester India about human rights violations in Kashmir, not f
orce it to sign the CTBT, and get tougher with China.
India-Pakistan dialogue -- The Hurriyat loses out
MOST reasonable people would agree that India must discuss its differences with Pakistan. Historically, India has talked to the Pakistani military and civilian rulers only to be voided by the party not in control. As was witnessed after the Tashkent and
Shimla Agreements, Pakistan's civilian leaders did not want any part of the agreements its military had conjured. Conversely, as witnessed with the UN resolutions of 1948 and the Lahore Agreement, the Pakistani military did not want any part of the agree
ments its civilian administrations created.
Power
Dabhol Power Project: What next
ENOUGH HAS been said about the past. Whatever the blunders committed by the political parties, the fact remains that the Dabhol power project has not gone away. It is a good asset, the criticism of Enron notwithstanding. The project has been built by Bec
htel and the turbines are from GE -- the two biggest and the best in the business. The project can serve the people of Maharashtra and India for the next 20 years at least.
