Credit Policy
What is Dr Jalan likely to announce?
DR JALAN has successfully taken the mystery out of the RBI's Credit Policy statements. Nonetheless, it is worth taking a peep at the likely profile of the policy he will unfold on Monday. It is to Dr Jalan's credit that he has brought the RBI's Credit Po
licy in line with the practice of other central banks, as a necessary periodical updating of the central bank's responses and nothing more. In the seven Credit Policies he has announced since he took over, there has been increasing transparency about the
RBI's functions. This has helped reduce the element of surprise in the policy statements.
Economy
Vision 2020 -- Counting money vs measuring output
A FEW days ago, Polaroid Corporation, one of the most venerable firms in the world, went bankrupt. It made a mistake many firms do -- it mistook the exact nature of its business. It thought its business was to make photographic films for instant photogra
phy, whereas that should have been to make the best instant photographs. Hence, when digital cameras came along, it was left with no market.
Why integrated risk management makes sense
Risk management is acquiring an integral position in mainstream finance. The derivatives market has flourished, thanks to financial engineering offering sophisticated tools and techniques to hedge interest rate, foreign exchange and commodity risks. The
financial world now has a theoretical foundation and a credible framework to show how risk can destroy corporate value and how value addition can be achieved through risk management.
Put off WTO Doha meeting
ASSUMING that the fourth Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation is finally held in Doha (there may be a change in the venue) in a couple of weeks' time, the question to ask is: Will the world gain optimally from such a conference, especially
in view of its timing vis-a-vis the horrific September 11 events?
Editorial
Exports in crisis
THERE WAS NEVER any doubt that exports this year would grow slower than last years sizzling 20 per cent. The Commerce Ministry in July had set a sober target of 12 per cent in the face of a slump in global demand and domestic manufacturing. Yet none migh
t have bargained for a decline.
Miscellaneous
Nobel person with a noble gift
HAVING kept Sir Vidia Naipaul and the world waiting for a decade and more, the Swedish Nobel committee decided in its wisdom that it was time to end the suspense. His Nobel Prize for literature was long overdue. Had he burned incense to the nostrums of p
olitical correctness, the honour, probably, would have come his way much earlier.
Terrorism
Congress (I) should not play with fire
The angry attack by the Congress(I), joined by the Left parties, on the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance, has put paid to any hopes of its becoming an Act of Parliament. While nothing better was expected of the Left, the Congress(I) which was morphing i
nto a mature and responsible Opposition under Ms Sonia Gandhi's leadership will be doing a great disservice to the nation if it persists with its misguided and myopic stand which is tantamount to playing with fire. It will incur the odium of generations
to come if it blocks a measure which is indispensable to the safety, security and integrity of the country.
Biological weapons: New-age terrorism
AMIDST the American pounding of Afghanistan, the world is gradually waking up to the threat of an unprecedented terrorist attack, which leaves behind tremendous political and scientific implications. Reports that terrorist groups had planned to gas Europ
ean Parliament building in Strasbourg, aimed at killing all the 625 European Members of Parliament in February this year is indicative of the shape of terror to come.
