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Does the Left have no alternative but to continue supporting the Congress-led UPA government despite strong disagreements on various economic policy issues? Are the claims of the Left that it is capable of not just "barking" but "biting" as well a lot of bluff and bluster? Have the Indian Communists—today more powerful than ever before if one goes by the number of seats they won in the Lok Sabha—been left in the lurch? Are they faced with a Hobson's choice, supporting a government that takes its...

The problem with trying to please everyone is that one could end up pleasing precisely no one. That is because the happiness can get spread so thinly that it is easy to ignore it altogether. When I used these words to describe the Union Budget for 2004-05 to Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, he was not amused in the least. He was appearing on a panel discussion on Doordarshan News and dared me to point out how he had tried to please different sections and, in the process, ended up...

On May 17, 2004, the stockmarket went into a tailspin. The one alleged reason for the panic was that the Left parties, supporting the Congress government from the outside, had suggested that the high-profile but controversial disinvestment ministry be scrapped. Needless to say, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hasn't appointed a disinvestment minister—at least not till the time of going to press. But why has disinvestment got such a bad name? Well, if there's one individual who has given...

Dhirubhai Ambani was an amazing entrepreneur who aroused extreme responses in people. Either you loved him or you hated him. There was little or nothing in between. However, there is at least one important individual who had started out disliking the man who had founded the Reliance group of companies, India's single-largest privately owned corporate conglomerate, before becoming his admirer if not a faithful follower. He is none other than Arun Shourie, former economist with the World Bank and...

Raghuram G Rajan, Professor of Finance at the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, is the first person of Indian origin chosen by the International Monetary Fund as its chief economist. He is not only the youngest individual to hold this position, but also the first from a developing nation. Co-author of the book Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists (Crown Business, New York, 2003), Rajan has apparently sought to steer clear of the ideological position espoused by the extreme...

The performance of the Indian economy appears to have improved due to, among other things, the prospects of a favourable monsoon. However, the current state of the world economy leaves little or no room for optimism. During the current calendar year, the world economy is expected to grow at a niggardly 2.25 per cent, a quarter of a percentage point higher than the 2 per cent growth that was recorded during 2002. Whereas geopolitical uncertainties are easing, the persistence of a slowdown in...

It's amazing what the awesome clout of a large multinational corporation can achieve. The government of India is on the verge of changing its policy because of the pressure exerted by the Atlanta, US-based soft drinks giant, Coca-Cola. Coke is one of the best-known brands in the world. But the corporation and its Indian associates have not exactly covered themselves with glory by the manner in which they appear to have successfully lobbied with the government in New Delhi to change the rules of...

More than six months ago, the government had announced in Parliament that it was setting up a special Divestment Proceeds Fund. But there are no indications as yet as to when this fund would be established. The delay is particularly inexplicable because the establishment of such a fund could take some of the sting out of the attack on the government's privatisation programme. One would have thought that with state assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi due to be...

There has been a lot of public concern about the non-performing assets of the country's banking system running into a figure close to Rs 100,000 crore (Rs 1,000 billion) or around one-twentieth of India's gross domestic product. These NPAs are now being brought down to more manageable levels thanks to a recently enacted new law. What has, however, escaped public attention is the fact that the Union government's total tax arrears are as high as the total amount owed to banks and financial...

The country's premier investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, is looking into whether or not a case of corruption can be made out in the questionable Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion) investment made by the public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited in the Maharashtra government-owned Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation Limited. A number of leading politicians are said to have been associated with this controversial investment. They include Pramod Mahajan...