Economy
Re-striking roots
A BOAT lazily took me across the serene Narmada, larger than its size. Even the incomplete dam had at one time caught enough water to submerge a temple. The ascent to Manibeli village, the scene of an anti-dam agitation, was visible from the make-shift d
ock, near the temple.
Washington consensus -- II: Fallout of interest rate, trade policies
Looking into the fourth, fifth and sixth goals of the Washington Consensus, P. R. Brahmananda points out that the interest rate and trade policies implied in the Consensus are contrary to the tenets of the IMF, which is working towards lower rates of inf
lation among the developing countries and more realistic interest rates.
Editorial
Troubling data
THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL Commission Chairman, Dr C. Rangarajan, pinpointed the basic weakness of the country's database when he made a plea to increase the share of direct vis-a-vis indirect estimates of each sub-sector of the National Accounts statistic
s; there is now an excessive dependence on indirect estimates. His observations assume significance in the context of the growing scepticism among experts on the reliability of the estimates on gross domestic product (GDP) and its sectoral composition.
Miscellaneous
Invocation to a Goddess
THE Festival of Lights is over. In fact, one more Festival of Lights has passed into History. This is the `big picture'. The `small picture' is the one we see reflected on the faces of children, whose faces light up at the display of fireworks, decked ou
t as they are in their Deepavali (or Kali Puja) best.
Taxation
Sanction for evasion
Should the Settlement Commission be a gate-way for evasion, asks T. C. A. Ramanujam
Dead tape
THE somewhat unusual facts of the Nasik Breeding & Research Farm Ltd case go like this: The company imported two consignments of live day-old chicks. To ensure quick clearance at the Customs, the company had presented the bill of entry in advance, paid d
uty prior to the arrival of the consignment, but more than 90 per cent of chicks died due to ``suffocation and stress'' before the Customs could clear them. Promptly, the dead birds were incinerated.
Empower the people
There can be no better forum than Lok Adalats to settle small and simple income-tax disputes, says S. N. L. Agarwala
When is interest payable?
Santanu K. Ganguli on the problem of interest while computing income from house property
