Editorial
Desperate move
TRUST THE GOVERNMENT to do the most rational thing, but only after exploring all other possibilities, and naturally, failing. Thoughtlessly accumulated wheat and rice stocks far in excess of normal requirement have become a millstone around the Governmen
t's neck.
Insurance
Transferring risk to capital market -- An alternative to reinsurance
COMPANIES are gung-ho about privatisation of the insurance market. More than half a dozen companies are offering or proposing to offer consumers various insurance products. This augurs well for consumers, as competition will drive down their prices. But
the growth of a competitive market rests on removing a major structural impediment -- the absence of a deep reinsurance market.
Miscellaneous
Marriage movement
IT IS only to be expected that in a country like the US where 43 per cent of the marriages end in divorce, 50 per cent of the couples cohabit before marriage, if they marry at all. According to the 2001 Census Bureau's report, less than 25 per cent of th
e households can boast traditional families (father, mother and children living as a single unit). There should be a concerted drive to rehabilitate marriage as an institution sanctified by law and custom and as an imperative pre-requisite for a harmonio
us, well-knit society. The objective is to realise the full meaning and significance of what has been called ``married bliss'' but which, more often than not, turns into married curse.
Politics
Centre shows its ugly face
WHAT befell Ms Fathima Beevi, as Governor of Tamil Nadu, reminds one of the expressive Tamil proverb which says: The scorpion stings the coconut tree, but the neighbouring palmyra tree bears the agony!
Musharraf: Taliban's advocate?
GENERAL Pervez Musharraf is a typical army man. Diplomatic niceties are not his forte. Down to earth idiom is his. Consider this advice to Russia, a nation he has been trying to cultivate: ``Recognise Taliban and buy peace''. It is very blunt and to the
point. ``The only way to influence how the Taliban act is by recognising the regime,'' he told Izvestia, the Russian daily, in a recent interview. His argument is simple: ``No one but the Taliban are capable of guaranteeing peace in Afghanistan today. Wh
ether anyone likes or not the Taliban are a reality.''
Power
Private power projects -- Third-party sales: A viable option?
INDEPENDENT power producers (IPPs) have been demanding that they be allowed to sell power to third parties -- large consumers -- directly, instead of selling to the electricity boards. The majority of State electricity boards (SEBs) are believed to be no
n-viable customers and the banks consider them non-bankable. The IPPs and the supporters of privatisation believe the IPPs would become bankable if they are able to sell the power they produce directly to large users -- private and public sector companie
s.
States
West Bengal -- Revival hinges on service sector growth
EXPECTATIONS are running high in West Bengal. The public mood has changed dramatically with the communist party changing tack from ideology to economy after winning the Assembly elections and coming back for its sixth term. People believe that the Left F
ront will now get down to real business and revive the State's past glory -- a belief strengthened by the induction of new people in the leadership of the communist party, whose industry-friendly image is beginning to resuscitate investor confidence in t
he State.
