Economy
Growth rate for 2001-02: A first estimate
IN ALL probability unless the fourth quarter estimate of GDP turns out to be substantially higher than the estimates for the first three quarters, the growth rate of real GDP for 2000-01 may turn out to be somewhat less than the 6.1 per cent figure in ci
rculation. During the first three quarters of 2000-2001, the growth rates were respectively 6.3per cent, 6.5 per cent and 5.7 per cent. The fourth quarter performance will have to be about 5.9 per cent, for the overall growth rate during the year to be 6
.1 per cent.
IMF-World Bank group meetings -- Bretton Woods or Birnam forest?
THE FAR-FLUNG excursions of the IMF and the World Bank Group have not only blurred the nature and scope of the responsibilities of the two institutions, but made them drift farther and farther away from their core competencies. Take just one instance of
distortion that has crept in: In 1980, the WBG's involvement in the power sector, most vital for hastening the tempo of economic growth, was 21 per cent of its total lending. Today, it is a measly two per cent, while the lending on the so-called social p
rotection and safety nets (education, health and nutrition) has vaulted from five per cent in 1980 to over 22 per cent. It is not that the latter is unimportant, but that attention to it on the part of the Bank should not be at the cost of more immediate
priorities pertinent to the Bank's role.
Editorial
SEBI's whims
WHIMSICAL IS THE term that springs to the mind when one considers SEBI's recent decisions. The market has seen a spate of decisions by the regulator which have little by way of a rationale, and the latest is the one where a committee appointed by it has
suggested that the carry-forward mechanisms in place at the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange be replaced by new ones by July.
Miscellaneous
Resume writing
A JOB applicant who does not put his best foot forward or cannot capture the attention, if not the imagination of, headhunters and employer, with the first string of words he utters or composes is liable to fall by the wayside, suffering much damage to h
is self-esteem and future prospects in the process. The very first flag one waves, as it were, to make the recruiters know of his talents and potential for growth is his resume.
Politics
Bangladesh: Worrisome indicators
THE recent incidents on the Indo-Bangladeshi border are under enquiry by the Government and one has to await the results before assessing whether these were isolated incidents unlikely to have an adverse impact on the bilateral relations or if these are
the first outward manifestations of a growing anti-India feeling in the Bangladesh security bureaucracy. However, certain recent negative trends in Bangladesh, which have not received the attention they deserve in India, need to be highlighted.
States
Going with the flow
Come summer, and there are rising temperatures, the nagging heat and problems of incessant water scarcity.
Technology
Knowledge-generating centres -- Catalysts in exciting transition
IN INDIA, knowledge-generation is a predominantly Government-sponsored activity. And the scientists in national laboratories, research organisations or universities are the main players in this enterprise. Over the years, industries that had ambitions of
becoming global players and taking on market competition also started investing in in-house research and development (R&D).
