Vodafone case's influence in this year's financial budget

The budget session is just around the corner.

The landmark judgement by the SC in favour of the Vodafone telecom company should mean that this year's budget should incorporate a mechanism to prevent such severe loss to the exchequer or a direct ruling in accordance with the SC verdict, whichever it seems deemed fit...

Vodafone had filed a case against the government for demanding tax for shares bought by the company from the Hutchinson-Essar limited. This was a sensitive issue which was very keenly watched by the corporate world...

Will the budget revisit the supreme court ruling on Vodafone?

Jewelry companies target teeny-boppers with low-cost diamonds

Times View - Market is a great leveler - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Market-is-a-great-leveller/articleshow/12177896.cms

Counter View - Diamonds aren't for everyone - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Diamonds-arent-for-everyone/articleshow/12177876.cms

-The Times of India, March 8, 2012

Readymoney vs Parsimoney

Poor little rich Parsis redefine poverty line and purchasing power parity

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Readymoney-vs-Parsimoney/articleshow/12178768.cms

-The Times of India, March 8, 2012

How The Lotus Can Bloom

BJP 2.0 must be a vehicle for the politics of aspiration and economic change

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/How-the-lotus-can-bloom/articleshow/12178289.cms

A debate has ensued in the BJP between two ideational models, says the writer. What are these models and how do those models fair in view of the recent outcomes in assembly elections?

A discussion on possible changes, and the results of past and current strategies of the BJP are expressed.

-The Times  of India, March 8, 2012

So Many Good Words

Preserving books - despite digital tech

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/So-many-good-words/articleshow/12178140.cms

Former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Brewster Kahle, is collecting books in order to preserve them from the rapidly changing world of technology.

-The Times of India, March 8, 2012

Mandate's Message

Promising people a better life won't do, delivering it will


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Mandates-message/articleshow/12178238.cms

There are many important lessons to be learnt from the recent outcome of the assembly elections, says the editorial, and the central one may be that identity politics has its limits.

"Youth-driven India's burgeoning popular aspirations should drive home the urgent need for more inclusive growth and accelerated development. The budget is the UPA's chance to show that it not only understands this, but also has the political will to act."

-The Times of India, March 8, 2012

Keeping The Faith

The Election Commission made it easy for voters in UP

Keeping The Faith

-The Times of India, March 6, 2012

How To Be A Winner

Bihar's done well on the growth front, now it must further speed up development

How To Be A Winner

-The Times of India, March 6, 2012

Media Under Fire

Lawyers pounce on scribes in Bangalore

Media Under Fire

-The Times of India, March 6, 2012

Putin Returns

He should try the path of reform now, for the sake of his legacy


Putin Returns

-The Times of India, March 6, 2012

No more at sea

"With China's increased engagement in the Indian Ocean region causing concern in some circles in India, it is good that the two sides have begun exploring ways of working together on the maritime front. 

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : No more at sea: A multi-ministerial group is to finalise the details of the anti-piracy proposal. Once operationalised, this may well see Indian and Chinese naval vessels cooperating with each other on the high seas."

A regular Sino-Indian dialogue on maritime matters will dispel the fears both sides have developed about each other, fears the U.S. is able to take advantage of by playing the role of a balancer.

Past politics

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France seems intent on criminalising Armenian genocide denial, even after his country's Constitution Council quashed a recent bid.

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Past politics: "France has been dabbling with similar counter-intuitive measures in recent years. Surely, the country's large racial and religious minorities are unlikely to feel reassured by official validations of history. Of material significance would be policies that promote respect for their rights and protect jobs, mitigating a sense of alienation, especially in the current economic crisis gripping Europe."

Surely, the politics behind attempts to deny the horrors of history must be exposed. But to clamp down on such forces betrays an authoritarian and undemocratic tendency inimical to an open polity.

Needed, more HUNGaMA over malnutrition

"The solutions to ending chronic hunger, the consequences of which are felt over generations, are not complicated."

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Needed, more HUNGaMA over malnutrition:  The solutions to ending malnutrition are not complicated. What is necessary to be done is known and has been achieved in parts of our own country. What is needed are the will and the determination to make this happen.

Camera Obscura and the manufacture of happiness

"Hostile online campaign takes some of the shine off Vedanta's promotionals."

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Camera Obscura and the manufacture of happiness: Vedanta's “Creating Happiness” campaign, is part of an “initiative to tell our side of the story”; yet the hostile reception on blogs and social-media networks like Facebook and Twitter highlights the risks of exposing a tightly controlled corporate message to the anarchy of the internet.

The final countdown in Nepal

"Political parties have less than three months to resolve three issues — integration of Maoist combatants, form of government, federalism — that will shape state structure for years to come."

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : The final countdown in Nepal: By any stretch, these are enormously challenging tasks. Instead of getting embroiled in short term power-sharing games, Nepal's political leaders would be well advised to focus on the big issues with long-term consequences, and fulfil the mandate of the 2006 People's Movement.