India News - Opinions & Editorials | Sumanasa.com

Opinions & Editorials [Last updated: Feb 27, 2009 2:09 AM IST]

Nath declares 26 measures to benefit exporters (Business Standard): With the economy slowing and an impending general election, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath today announced 26 measures to promote exports, mostly simplifying foreign trade schemes, even as he lowered the export target for 2008-09 to $175 billion against the $200 billion...

Colonial imaginings? (Business Standard): Some time in the early 19th century, zealous East India Company officials discovered ritual highway killers scattered all over central, northern and southern India. Followers of the cult of Bhowanee, they befriended unsuspecting travellers, strangled them with a silk scarf at...

Sweeping change (Business Standard): On each of the last three Sundays, 30 school children aged between six and 16 have cleared 725 kilograms of litter — yes, you read it right — from the parks and lanes of South Avenue, a long boulevard stretch in...

I-T dept moves court to recover Rs 500 crore from BSE brokers (Business Standard): The Income Tax (I-T) Department has moved the Bombay High Court to recover nearly Rs 500 crore from top stock brokers, who have managed to avoid paying income tax on the pretext of claiming depreciation on their Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)...

Gujarat bourses get nod for F&O, currency futures (Business Standard): The Ahmedabad Stock Exchange (ASE) and Saurashtra Kutch Stock Exchange have received permission from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to trade in futures and options (F&O) and currency derivatives through their subsidiaries.

Sensex ends up 52pts; Ranbaxy slumps 18% (Business Standard): The Sensex opened almost flat at 8,906 - up three points amid mixed cues from the global markets. The index soon slipped to a low of 8,788 led by heavy selling in banking stocks.

SBI to restructure 41,000 SME accounts (Business Standard): State Bank of India will restructure over 41,000 accounts of Small and Micro Enterprises (SME) which are hit by economic downturn.

FII net sell at Rs 274cr, DII net buy at Rs 345cr (Business Standard): Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 273.94 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.

Nortel to cut 3,200 jobs globally, stops bonuses (Business Standard): Nortel, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, said in a statement that a fresh round of job cuts will be made over the next several months.

India to be least affected from global crisis: PM (Business Standard): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed confidence that India would emerge the least affected country of the world from the current global economic meltdown.

CLB refuses to supersede Maytas Infra board (Business Standard): The Company Law Board (CLB) today refused to supersede the board of Maytas Infra at this point in time, but favoured giving board representation to lenders IDBI Bank and ICICI Bank.

Macmillan India to skip dividend for 2008 (Business Standard): Publishing company Macmillan India will skip dividend for 2008 to conserve the resources in the present economically challenging environment, and make investments for securing growth. It also reconstituted board to comply with amended corporate governance norms.

UB launches India's first 500ml beer can (Business Standard): Rexam HTW, a joint venture between Rexam Plc, UK and Hindustan Tin Works Ltd, India’s only 2 piece can manufacturer today launched India’s first ever 500ml can for beverage packaging in a multi crore deal.

Crisil revises ratings of base metal producers (Business Standard): Credit Rating Information Services of India (Crisil), the premier credit ratings organisation in the country, has revised credit ratings of India’s non-ferrous metal producers which may reflect on their fund raising programmes in future.

269 polluting industries closed last year (Business Standard): The Central Pollution ControlBoard (CPCB) has ordered closure of 269of the 1,357 industrial units, which had been identied as the worstpolluters across the country, last year.

I-T dept to assist CBI in Satyam probe (Business Standard): Broadening the ambit of probe into the country's biggest corporate fraud at Satyam, the Income-Tax department has formed a two-member team to assist the CBI, besides carrying out a parallel inquiry into alleged tax violations.

Nano launch on March 23, bookings from April (Business Standard): After a delay of more than six months, Tata Motors will finally launch the much-awaited Nano on March 23. The Rs 1-lakh car, pegged as the world's cheapest car, will be rolled out at an event to be held in Mumbai....

Inflation at 14-month low (Business Standard): Headline inflation rate fell to a 14-month low of 3.36 per cent for the week ended February 14 this year due to decline in prices of manufactured goods.

Foreign firms will have to bring forex for equity infusion (Business Standard): This was part of a set of clarifications issued by DIPP on the norms to be used to treat downstream investments by Indian companies which have foreign equity, termed Press Note 4.

5 AAI airports to levy development fees (Business Standard): Following in the footsteps of privately-run airports in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore, five more airports — Kolkata, Chennai, Goa, Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad — will also charge development fees from passengers.

The changing countryside (Business Standard): The perceptible change in the composition of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the rural areas, as reflected in the faster growth of rural industry and services vis--vis agriculture, is a welcome development. Analysis of Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) data, done...

Clarity in broadcast (Business Standard): It is difficult to quarrel with the thrust of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) latest set of recommendations on restricting the amount of equity that a broadcaster can have in distribution companies such as cable, direct-to-home (DTH), and headend-in-the-sky...

Two-wheelers: It's raining bikes (Business Standard): TVS Motor Company must be keenly watching the launch of Suzuki Motorcycle’s GS150. After all, the model will compete with its Apache, a 160 cc bike, which has about a fifth of the share in the premium segment. Among the other...

'We have to make respect respectable' (Business Standard): N R Narayana Murthy , chairman and chief mentor of Infosys Technologies, is considered to have set new benchmarks in corporate governance through the firm he founded. Last fortnight, he was chosen to head Nasscom’s sub-committee on corporate governance. Excerpts from...

Akash Prakash: Crunch time (Business Standard): The Chinese word for crisis is a combination of the words for danger and opportunity, and both apply to India at this juncture. If we do not get our act together on the economic reform front, the economy has a real...

Shobhana Subramanian: It pays to be a listed company (Business Standard): Frankly I think in the next one year, a few companies will be taken private. Whether Punj Lloyd will be one of them I don’t know. But it is a tempting thought.” These are some of the thoughts that Atul Punj,...

Sunita Narain: When to exhale? (Business Standard): A year ago, in this very column, I discussed the myopia of Budget 2008, which did not touch upon events then beginning to unfold. Since then we have seen the world collapse and, perhaps, even change forever.

Anjuli Bhargava: Yet another bail-out (Business Standard): Last week, the government announced that we, the passengers, would be bailing out Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) by paying Rs 200 if we take a domestic flight out of Delhi airport and Rs 1,300 (which sounds pretty exorbitant) if we...

TCS Rajarhat campus faces slowdown hurdle (Business Standard): Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is likely to delay its Rajarhat campus in West Bengal, as part of a string of cost-management initiatives to cope with the pangs of the global meltdown.

Tata group faces FCCB problems (Business Standard): After the rechristening of Telco to Tata Motors in 2003, one of the auto-maker’s earliest decision was to settle its high-cost debts of around Rs 500 crore with the proceeds from foreign currency convertible bonds, or FCCBs. The company had raised...

TCS mulls cutting variable pay; employees to work more (Business Standard): In a clear admission that it is facing hard times, India’s largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said it plans to review the variable component of employees' salaries every quarter in an attempt to cut costs. Variable pay accounts for...

TCS puts 130 more UK staffers under scanner (Business Standard): India’s largest IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) might soon ask some more employees from its UK geography to leave.

BJP to shift Munda out of Jharkhand (Business Standard): The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda for the coming Lok Sabha elections, making space for new leadership in the state, which is currently under President’s Rule.

Loss-hit RBS puts India retail business on sale (Business Standard): The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) today said that it will sell its retail and commercial banking business along with a part of its global banking and markets (GBM) division in India as part of the global restructuring exercise aimed at...

Parsoli promoters barred from trading (Business Standard): Zafar and Uves Sareshwala, promoters of broking firm Parsoli Corporation, were debarred by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) after they were found to have fraudulently transferred shares of genuine investors to their own accounts.

Satyam yet to disclose the guidelines for strategic investor (Business Standard): The government-appointed board of the beleaguered Satyam Computer Services met here today but the discussions in the one-day meeting remained inconclusive and its outcome was not disclosed.

Apex court redefines takeover code (Business Standard): A recent decision of the Supreme Court interpreting the takeover code in the Seamec case has opened up an entirely new dimension and, this is not about the courts verdict on the applicability of foreign law.

Jobs bloom at govt banks (Business Standard): At this time of fear and apprehension over jobs, public sector banks are swimming against the tide to go on a hiring spree.

Realty biggies likely to lower earlier profit figures (Business Standard): The country’s leading real estate companies are likely to lower part of their earlier profit figures as the dwindling income levels of home buyers may force some of them to walk out of booked projects, analysts said.

DLF mops up Rs 720 crore from bond sale (Business Standard): DLF, the nation’s biggest real estate developer, has raised Rs 720 crore from selling bonds to insurance companies as part of its plan to raise Rs 5,000 crore from such sales.

Retail investors warm up to NCDs (Business Standard): Taking a cue from a couple of successful non-convertible debenture (NCD) issues for retail investors, quite a few corporate houses are planning to take this route.

Slowing economy may end IIM placements boom (Business Standard): This year, IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A), the largest and most prestigious of the institutes, has seen a 50 per cent slowdown in placements on the coveted "day zero" (the first day), probably for the first time since the dotcom bust in 2000....

Unitedworld School of Business set to churn out global MBAs (Business Standard): Even in the times of meltdown, the education sector seems to be a favourite option with corporates planning a sucessful venture. In the backdrop of open economic policies, liberal trade regime and global mobility of resources throwing new challenges to the...

Govt employees get DA bonanza (Business Standard): The Union Cabinet today approved a hefty 6 percentage point increase in the cost of living allowance, earlier called Dearness Allowance (DA), from 16 to 22 per cent of basic pay. The new rates will be effective for 14 months from...

'Taste policing' angers German bakers (The Hindu): European Union officials have offered to sit down with German bakers in an endeavour to defuse the latest uproar over proposed regulations from Brussels, Belgium.

McDonald's attracting the Wi-Fi crowd (The Hindu): It may be horribly early but the Big Mac breakfasts are flying out at McDonalds - and along with them, a surprising number of coffee-only orders from suits with laptops and a guilty look. There is gossip aplenty from families going...

Are they above law? (The Hindu): It is unfortunate that those who know the law of the land are behaving as if they are above the law. It is now being made to appear as if the police were entirely to blame for the violence in the...

Police excesses (The Hindu): Many readers seem to overlook the gross impropriety committed by the police on the court premises and the rank lawlessness they indulged in by resorting to indiscriminate attack on everyone, including judges, litigants and women lawyers. They appear to have absolved...

Movie with a message (The Hindu): When I saw Slumdog Millionaire , I was spellbound and told myself this is an Academy Award production. The story is seen through a western perception which is why it reached the Oscars. Had it been made by an Indian, it...

Army is the provocation (Hindustan Times): Several theories are floating about in surcharged Dhaka about what could have led about 15,000 jawans of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) to mutiny against their seniors most of who are the armys top brass.

Beyond the charge sheet (The Hindu): The Mumbai police deserve the nations appreciation for their hard work in filing a detailed charge sheet in the 26/11 case within three months of the horrific terror attack. The broad picture that emerges from the charge sheet is of a...

Bitter pill on bonuses (The Hindu): Caps on incentives paid to top bank executives, imposed as part of the Obama administrations $787 billion rescue plan, are a key to the restoration of public confidence in financial institutions against the backdrop of the global meltdown and a response...

Right to work and rights at work (The Hindu): We seriously lack a basic framework for protection of labour rights and an enabling rights-based environment for equity and development.

The case and context for a new Independent Initiative (The Hindu): India needs today an organisation to scan and scrutinise the election process and the candidates in the fray. The land of Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev also produced Gorbachev, the last of the rulers from the Kremlin of the vast universe...

Globe's economic bellwether (The Hindu): Strong exports have tended to disguise the weakness of Japanese domestic consumption in recent years: now that prop has been kicked away, growth is plummeting. The great engine of globalisation has gone into reverse.

Slum like it hot (The Times of India): Alec Smart said, "How do you describe this time's Oscars? Milking the slums." He's right. The underdogs wagged the tale. Homo-haters and municipal demolition squads alike watched in dismay as Sean Penn struck a blow for the faggots, and the slums...

SAY CHEESE | Reason to Smile (The Times of India): I was born with a double cleft on the lip, but not many can tell that today. My parents still loved me to bits but my mother, in an attempt to protect me from public ridicule, would only allow my pictures...

SACRED SPACE | Coming Home (The Times of India): We know our bodies are quite literally a flowing garment of star stuff spun long ago in the heart of suns, themselves issued from the river of energies pouring from the first cosmic atom.

SPEAKING TREE | Music as a spiritual 'sadhana' (The Times of India): Music is more than entertainment; it is also blissful spiritual sadhana or practice. Guru Nanak and other spiritual gurus and seekers have expressed their devotion to God through singing songs, often to the accompaniment of musical instruments.

EDITORIAL COMMENT | It Won't Be Easy (The Times of India): Delivering his first address to a joint session of the US Congress, President Barack Obama was at his oratorial best, but tempered his exhortations to the elected representatives and the nation with an acknowledgement of the true extent of America's troubles...

EDITORIAL COMMENT | Spare The Messenger (The Times of India): A reporter of this newspaper was threatened by a lawyer in the Punjab and Haryana high court for a series of reports we published on indiscriminate mining in the Aravalis. This lawyer, who is sworn by oath to protect the rule...

TOP ARTICLE | Asia's Power Of Three (The Times of India): Any new administration in Washington excites overseas curiosity about the incoming power elite's priorities and world views. In parliamentary systems, a neutral civil service provides continuity and contacts nurtured by officials throughout their professional careers. In the US presidential system, when...

Q&A | 'The best of cinema has portrayed poverty' (The Times of India): Even after the Oscars toasted New India and its newfound talents, dissenting voices are debating the merits or otherwise of Slumdog Millionaire. It didn't in the least perturb Gulzar, the lyricist who penned `Jai ho!' "Logon ka kaam hai kehna!" he...

SUBVERSE | Slum like it hot (The Times of India): Alec Smart said, "How do you describe this time's Oscars? Milking the slums." He's right. The underdogs wagged the tale. Homo-haters and municipal demolition squads alike watched in dismay as Sean Penn struck a blow for the faggots, and the slums...

Reconcile with the truth (Hindustan Times): There have been many failures that characterise the polity and society of contemporary Gujarat. Probably the most dangerous of the lot is the unprecedented extent of the arrest and collapse of processes of authentic reconciliation, even seven years after the 2002...

Half done, but well begun (Hindustan Times): South Asia can for the first time celebrate an important milestone. Democratically- elected governments are now in place in all of South Asia. Multi-party elections have been held in Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, and most recently in Bangladesh.

Rock star, meet teetotaller (Hindustan Times): In the restaurant, the tables shimmered under the lighting. It was just the kind of lightening, I knew, that after a few drinks would take on a shadowy glow. But here I was: sober and meeting a couple with bright smiles...

Unlawful terrorist (Hindustan Times): We can quite see the court proceedings. The accused Ajmal Amir Kasabs counsel approaches the bench saying, Your Honour, my client pleads guilty to entering the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus without a railway ticket. He also pleads guilty to littering a few...

Test of fire for Hasina (Hindustan Times): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh has an important task set before her: to convince everyone that her Awami League government is in control of her country. When you have para-military personnel mutineering in downtown Dhaka, the hope that Ms Hasina...

Defining a man (DNA): Certain of the scribes saw some of Jesus' disciples eat bread with unwashed hands. They found fault: for the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. The Pharisees and...

No visa, no cry (DNA): Amidst recession, thousands of Americans are losing jobs. President Barack Obama has been quick in his efforts to bring the economy back on its track. Banks, financial institutions have been bailed out and tax cuts have been introduced. In this situation,...

Lonely death for a trailblazer (DNA): It was little over a month ago that I saw Amita Malik painfully walking up the few steps to the lounge at the India International Centre, Delhi's watering hole for the culturati. She let out a long sigh, greeting me with...

Big step (DNA): The Mumbai police completed a formidable task on Wednesday, three months to the date of the November terror attacks, when it filed a mammoth charge-sheet on the incident.

Dhaka tremors (DNA): The armed clash between soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles (BR) and the army in Dhaka on Wednesday is a disturbing event for several reasons.

Dont blame police for the mayhem (The Asian Age): Indian Govt generally respects its citizens' rights:US report | Eid-Miladun-Nabi to celebrated on March 10: Shahi Imam | Dempo go down 0-3, fail to qualify for AFC Champions League | Rajasthan to get new IIM, says Mukherjee | Revolt by BDR...

Noam Chomsky (DNA): (Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.)

Take a journey into your own mind (Hindustan Times): Ive been grounded! A fate bestowed on me by my mother and my doctor. Its a late-night story that stars a tub of very, very hot water, my mother and a series of misfortunes. It ends with me and a much...

Will T20 bubble be next to burst? (The Times of India): When Babe Ruth signed a whopping contract for the New York Yankees on the eve of the Great Depression he was asked what he thought about earning more than the President of the United States, Herbert Hoover: “What's Hoover gotta do...

Ganguly and his babes (The Times of India): Verbal vulgarity and abuse Excessive nudity Religious grounds - hurts my sentiments Anti-national - against the interests of India Sexually explicit content Illegal content - against the law of India Defamatory content Message:

D'zire: A no hassle sedan (The Times of India): The new Swift Dzire is the latest three box saloon to enter the A3 car segment. Touted as the age old Esteem replacement, this hatch that has graduated into the 3 box class comes across as quite the package.

Nano launch date revealed (The Times of India): We have confirmed news about the launch date of Tata Motors' eagerly awaited people's car, the Nano. Read on to find out when!

Oscars winner Rahman returns home to a rousing welcome (Business Standard): Music maestro A R Rahman, the first Indian to win two Oscars, returned to his home city to a rousing welcome by his fans and friends in the wee hours of today.

Strides Arcolab out of red; posts Rs 108cr net (Business Standard): Bangalore-based pharma company, Strides Arcolab, said today that it has come out of the red and posted a net profit of Rs 108 crore for the year ended December 2008. Its operating profit has stood at Rs 186 crore for the...

Diesel price cut not discussed in Cabinet: Deora (Business Standard): Feb 26 (PTI) A reduction in diesel rates did not come up for discussion at the Cabinet meeting today.

L&T bags Rs 1,162cr orders to build homes, factories (Business Standard): Engineering firm Larsen & Toubro today said it has bagged orders worth Rs 1,162 crore from different vendors for construction of factories and residential projects.

Govt hikes DA to 22% (Business Standard): As a parting gift to the employees, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government today announced hike of 6 per cent hike in the Dearness Allowance (DA) for the central government employees.

Tata Motors to launch 'Nano' on March 23 (Business Standard): Tata Motors today said it will launch 'Nano', touted as the world's cheapest family car, on March 23 in Mumbai and bookings will start from April this year.

Inflation at 15-month low of 3.36% (Business Standard): Inflation declined to about a 15-month low of 3.36 per cent mainly due to fall in the prices food articles like fruit and vegetables, pulses, and some manufactured items, raising hopes of cuts in the key policy rates by the RBI....

Lanco front-runner for 1,980-MW Bara power project (Business Standard): Lanco Infra has emerged as the front-runner for setting up a 1,980-MW super critical thermal power plant at Bara in Allahabad district.

Mutiny spreads across B'desh; 50 army officers killed (Business Standard): A bloody mutiny by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) today spread to areas outside the national capital, as the death toll in the uprising over pay dispute mounted to over 50 with retrieval of five more bodies including that of a Brigadier from...

Specific law to protect tourists from touts sought (Business Standard): Taking note of several cases of tourists being fleeced and harassed by touts, a parliamentary committee has recommended enactment of a specific law to ensure their safety.

'Export sops may not reach cotton producers' (Business Standard): The benefit of five per cent incentive on exports of cotton given effect retrospectively from April 1, 2008, would not reach the intended beneficiaries, a top industry official has said.

UPDATE: Rupee falls further to 50.18/$ (Business Standard): The rupee depreciated futher to 50.18/20 against the greenback in late morning deals today, following weakness in equity markets amid a firm dollar overseas.

Sensex down 85pts; Tata Motors rallies 3% (Business Standard): The Sensex is now down 85 points at 8,818. The index touched a low of 8,788 in early trades this morning.

Cut that break (Business Standard): Cutting costs are vital in these tough times, especially for an IT industry which is witnessing the brunt of the OECD recession. One of the many things IT major Infosys is doing is to encourage staffers not to stay on beyond...

Bata aims at 10% growth in Orissa (Business Standard): Bata India Limited, one of India’s leading shoe manufacturing and marketing companies, is aiming at a 10 per cent growth in its business in the Orissa in 2009 calendar year.

Cashing in on IPL fever Google works on monetising Orkut (Business Standard): With the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket season round the corner, Google’s social networking platform, Orkut, is hoping to turn itself into a hot-bed for advertisers.

Akshaya Patra gets aid from the Japanese Government (Business Standard): Commenting on the addition of another major sponsor to its growing list of stakeholders, Shri Madhu Pandita Das, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation said, “To continue to feed around 1 million children everyday, the foundation is very much dependent upon participation...

Sanjeev Bikchandani, Jayant Sinha: Freeing higher education (Business Standard): India’s higher education sector is failing. Barely 7 per cent of Indians get to college; 99 per cent of these lucky few receive indifferent teaching in decrepit classrooms; they lack libraries, labs and computers; 80 per cent are unemployable; the moneyed...

Tomato Lingerie (The Times of India): Select check boxes and click ?Compare? button to compare items Bras Category under Bras & Panties Category for Lingerie.

Rs 97 (The Times of India): Select check boxes and click ?Compare? button to compare items Bras Category under Bras & Panties Category for Lingerie.

Amitabh Bachchan to play Jim Corbett (The Times of India): Verbal vulgarity and abuse Excessive nudity Religious grounds - hurts my sentiments Anti-national - against the interests of India Sexually explicit content Illegal content - against the law of India Defamatory content Message:

Tata Xenon XT First Drive (The Times of India): Tarmac terror or terrain tamer, suggest what you will, the new Tata Xenon XT is a whole new take on SUVs says Adil Jal Darukhanawala in this exclusive first drive of the country's first lifestyle 4x4 truck.

Calm down (Indian Express): For a state whose politics is dominated by regional issues, Tamil Nadu plays an extraordinarily crucial role in national elections. Its voters are typically decisive, delivering most of its 39 MP seats en bloc to either the DMK- or the AIADMK-led...

For Hasina, mutiny like a warning bell (The Asian Age): Feb.26 : Bangladeshs Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed has assured the soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles who mutinied in Dhaka on Wednesday that their demands will be met. But it is far from clear that the dramatic development has come to...

US cozies up to China, Taliban, isolates India (The Asian Age): No one doubts that the centrepiece of Hillary Clintons swing through Asia her first as secretary of state in the Obama administration was China. True, Japan was her first port of call to assure it of the abiding nature...

'Smaller cos unaware of labour laws' (Economic Times): Delhi-based law firm Kochhar & Co was the first Indian firm to be inducted into Ius Laboris, an alliance of leading human resources law practitioners. Globally, the alliance is represented by more than 2,500 lawyers, in over 45 countries. Kochhar &...

Lanka needs a humanitarian pause (Economic Times): New Delhis policy of benign indifference to the gathering humanitarian crisis in northern Sri Lankas Mullaitivu district is not sustainable. The crisis in Sri Lanka will spill over to Tamil Nadu via inflamed Tamil sentiments and to the rest of the...

Make all pain disappear! (Economic Times): Pick anyone around us at random. Ask them how they feel. They will immediately report some pain or another. Doctors say that more than 70% of people suffer from lower back pain. This when they do not complain about headaches, stomach...

India Inc feels heat, no tax breaks for outsourcing cos (Indian Express): and elsewhere in the world as President Barack Obama has decided to restore a sense of fairness to the US Tax Code.

Six hitting frenzy let the team down, says Dhoni (Indian Express): Christchurch: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni flayed the irresponsible batting by his teammates and felt the temptation of hitting sixes in a small ground did them in against New Zealand in the first Twenty20 Internationals in Christchurch on Wednesday.

Ex-union minister Sukhram gets 3 years jail (Indian Express): The Court also imposed a fine of Rs two lakh on the former minister and ordered the forfeiture of his illegal assets.

Feroz Khan admitted in a critical condition (Indian Express): Mumbai: Veteran actor and filmmaker Feroz Khan was rushed to Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital and admitted in the ICU yesterday. The actor, producer and director of films like Dharmatma, Qurbani, Jaanbaaz and Dayavan was in a critical condition while he was...

Jairam Ramesh quits Union Cabinet (Indian Express): 54-year-old Ramesh, who was Minister of State for Commerce and Power, sent in his papers to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. President Pratibha Patil has accepted Ramesh's resignation.

Mumbai attacks: Police file 11,000 page chargesheet (Indian Express): Police today filed a voluminous chargesheet against the lone captured terrorist Ajmal Kasab and 37 others, a majority of whom were Pakistani nationals including two suspected Armymen who are all still wanted.

In T20's flat world, a forgotten Indian invention from the past (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

Plan targets 20 pc energy intensity cut (Indian Express): has taken a major step towards fulfilling its climate change responsibilities by deciding to cut its energy intensity by 20 per cent over the next five years.

MHADA to remove the 'slum' from Slumdog kids (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

LTTE says ready for truce, govt rejects offer (Indian Express): Colombo: A cornered LTTE on Monday said it was ready for a ceasefire to end human sufferings in Sri Lankas Wanni region but refused to lay down arms, an offer bluntly rejected by the Government which said it would accept nothing...

Suspected Indians held in H-1B visa fraud (Indian Express): Washington: The US federal authorities have claimed to have unearthed a major H-1B visa racket with the arrest of at least 11 persons, most of them suspected to be of Indian origin.

Art vs reality: Kolkata's Oscar 2005 has tragic twist (Indian Express): shanties clambered onto the stage at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles today. If this magical moment, however fleeting, was meant to showcase the transformative power of art, there is a tragic, cautionary 'Oscar-India' tale as well one that shows...

Sonia plans Telangana rewrite, to back statehood (Indian Express): Sonia Gandhi is all set to endorse the demand for a separate Telangana state during her visit to Andhra on Feb 27-28.

BDR revolt quelled; Hasina grants amnesty to soldiers (Indian Express): Dhaka: A mutiny in the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) was quelled as Premier Sheikh Hasina granted a general amnesty to renegade soldiers, hours after the rebels demanding pay hike stormed their headquarters in Dhaka and opened fire on senior officers leaving three...

Republican Bobby takes on Barack with dr... (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

CPM mixes some sound from Resul Pookutty (Indian Express): Thiruvananthapuram: AT the Shankhumukham beach here this evening, when CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan ended his Nava Kerala Yatra, all ears may have been tuned to the appearance of his bitter rival Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and their tense, diplomatic...

CRPF men storm police station to 'free' ... (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

CRPF DIG held in 'recruitment scam' (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

UPA's fade out (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

Making the case for Bobby Jindal (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

What costs more ? A GM share or a GM spa... (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

It's the Reserve Bank's turn now, says M... (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

What's cooking? (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

Pretend you're a Westerner (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

Notice to SAI in Monika dope case (Indian Express): Monika is seeking directions to the SAI to declare the dope test conducted by the Laboratory of Tokyo ahead of the Beijing Olympics as null and void as the officials failed to follow doping rules.

Dempo go down 3-0 to Al Sharjah in play-... (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

Positive negatives (Indian Express): Saying that the issue of negative voting pertains to citizens Fundamental Rights, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court wants the matter examined by a larger bench. The court is acting upon a PIL filed in 2004 seeking an amendment to...

Finally, images of 'slums' (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

They, the people (Indian Express): Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, exasperated with MPs repeatedly defying his orders and creating a din in Parliament, last week accused parliamentarians of burying democracy in the country. Live television coverage of the Lok Sabha proceedings has made us all conscious...

Calm down Tamil Nadu's politicians must watch their rhetoric on Sri L... (Indian Express): The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments...

Where governments fail to tread (Indian Express): We all now know that globalisation and free market capitalism are going through their toughest period in many decades. The excess committed by a few over-adventurous investment bankers in the West has triggered a fierce backlash against globalisation and the free...

You want Uncle Sam (Indian Express): It is very useful to come to Asia to be reminded about Americas standing in the world these days. For all the talk in recent years about Americas inevitable decline, all eyes are not now on Tokyo, Beijing, Brussels or Moscow...

Gastronomic racism? Be open to other flavours (Economic Times): The Indian predilection for desi khana wherever we wander could already be seeing an unexpected fallout. The centre-right coalition in the local council of a tiny medieval Italian city near Florence called Lucca has decided to ban new ethnic cuisine outlets...

Step up hydel power: Medium-scale plants best bet (Economic Times): Small can be beautiful, cost effective and environmentally sustainable too. It is welcome that hydro-power major NHPC is joining hands with Orissa Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) for a clutch of 12 medium hydel projects.

Foreign bank presence has pros & cons (Economic Times): The first indication that the government might not be averse to going slow on opening up the banking sector further to foreign entry has come. The chief economic adviser in the finance ministry, Arvind Virmani, has reportedly stated that the entry...

Returning India to a high growth path (Economic Times): Only a few months ago, many in the media had been arguing that the emerging market economies (EMEs) had now acquired a growth momentum of their own and were immune to the booms and busts in the developed countries. Less than...

Indian IT firms bag big chunk of H1B visas (Financial Express): Washington: Top Indian IT companies account for the largest chunk of the H-1B work visas; which is primarily meant for tech professionals, a latest report has said.

IT firms given more reason to move to SEZs (Financial Express): New Delhi: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has given corporate India a very big incentive to move into SEZs. He has allowed companies to keep the tax rebate earned on exports from SEZs separate from a similar rebate earned from units in...

Advantest cuts 1,200 jobs (Financial Express): Tokyo: Japan's Advantest Corp, the world's biggest supplier of machines that test semiconductors, said it would cut more than a quarter of its workforce and warned it faces a record $804 million annual loss.

Thanks to IGI mess, Noida airport may become a reality (Financial Express): New Delhi , May 13: The international airport at Greater Noida may end up becoming a reality after all and not because of a push from the Uttar Pradesh government led by Mayawati but thanks to a growing realisation at...

Shopping Is 'Throwback To Days Of Cavewomen' (The Statesman): London, Feb.25: No wonder most ladies fight for bargains in the sales, but a womans love of shopping is just a throwback to her days in the caves, says a new study.

Column : Why our standards are poor (Financial Express): : The downgrade by Standard & Poor (S&P) reflects the growing realisation in financial markets that the Indian sovereign is in troublesome territory. In the India of old, rating agencies did not matter. But today, the Indian private sector has $166...

Reliving the Nakba (The Telegraph): Theres one thing about the high-tech world we live in: its hard to pretend ignorance of what is happening to real people in real places. In the days to come, we are bound to hear and see more of what happened...

Unusual courage (The Telegraph): Sir The courage of Ratna, the 13-year-old unwed mother, as depicted by Bhaswati Chakravorty in the article, Out of the darkness (Feb 17), is commendable. It is difficult to say whether she was right in refusing to marry the person...

Watershed time (The Telegraph): Sir The editorial, Grown up (Feb 11), was interesting. A democracy should have a liberal image and be secure enough to allow this openness. But there are numerous other facets of life where our democracy should show signs of maturity....

DAMP SQUIB (The Telegraph): In an ironic twist, on the very day that the acting finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, announced a third fiscal stimulus package, Standard & Poors, the global rating agency, downgraded Indias credit rating to near-junk status. The rationale for SandPs downgrade was...

HIGHER STAKES (The Telegraph): India does change, although slowly. The transfer of innovation from research and academic centres to industry by allowing university faculty and research students to participate in knowledge-driven companies or begin start-up companies of their own has long been part of the...

Complete singer (The Telegraph): Today, there are a couple of female Bengali khayal singers who could have sung Malabika Kanan (1930-2009) into the shade, but in her heyday (1950-1970) there was none who could have held a candle to her. She was not, however, an...

The big joke with democracy continues (The Telegraph): The peace deal in Swat is being projected by Pakistan as the only way to contain the Taliban. But neither the means nor the end of the deal can be justified, writes Chirosree Basu

'External factors can now impact demand positively' (Economic Times): Chief economic advisor in the finance ministry Arvind Virmani spoke to ET on India's economic growth project and central government's deficit budget in an interview.

Reaping the benefit of FDI (Economic Times): In the policy process, its quite possible to take one step forward and two steps back. Consider, for instance, the new guidelines for foreign direct investment (FDI), as per Press Note No 2 (2009 series).

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