The Hindu Business Line : Friday, November 18, 2005

Payback time
A GOVERNMENT-APPOINTED committee is studying a complaint by Indian shipping companies that the combined impact of a dozen different taxes is not only weakening them but also blunting their competitive edge in the international market. It was ... More

ECONOMY

Germany's 'grand coalition' encourages enterprise
THE current stability and performance of Germany's $1.7-trillion economy is the subject of speculation as the world's third largest and Europe's "locomotive economy" transmits mixed signals. Since last Friday, Germany's newly-elected coalition ... More

Micro-finance: Overcoming the mismatches
A vibrant and developed micro-finance sector can significantly impact economic development and distribution of wealth. The demand for micro-finance being enormous, Nabard has been proactive in launching the Self Help Group-bank linkage programme and connecting over 16 lakh such groups to banks. But the banks need to be sensitive to the unique needs of micro-finance clients, in terms of recovery of dues, paperwork and timings, and try to overcome the serious demand-supply mismatches that prevail, say Navin Bhatia and Anju Bhatia. More

Population can be an asset too
THE President, Mr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, has repeatedly stressed the importance of population control for India to become a `developed' nation. While interacting with students in Shimla last December, he said that it is necessary to control the ... More

HEALTH

`Oft it hits where hope is coldest and despair most fits'
WHO would have thought that the flu fears would come home to roost all around us? Look around: "WHO warns of bird flu outbreaks," says ABC News; "Chinese Ministry of Agriculture announced an emergency scheme in Beijing Thursday to tackle ... More

EDUCATION

Devalued Ph.Ds
THERE was once a time when award of a Ph.D. was a special honour worthy of being reported in bold headlines in newspapers. Nowadays Indian universities are churning out Ph.Ds by the thousands every year in every conceivable discipline. In one ... More

FINANCIAL MARKETS

Looking over the hedge
The systemic risk caused by hedge funds whose operations are "private" and unregulated is rising. This should cause as much worry for the IMF as for India, where hedge funds have made their entry through participatory notes. More

WTO

WTO ministerial: Tough bargaining lies ahead
THE developing countries, representing 22 per cent of world agricultural production and 70 per cent of rural workers, should apply the lessons learned from the agricultural negotiations in Geneva. After the failed Cancun summit, there is the ... More

LETTERS

Greener pastures

Pension suggestions

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