Telecom Minister A. Raja finally resigned yesterday after what seemed like doggedly denying wrongdoing and corruption in 2G spectrum allocation. The media has been jubilant about having an impact on the Government, claiming credit for exposé after exposé that has…
Both Indian industry and the government agree that the economy needs a spurt of innovation. While industry has produced innovations such as the Tata Nano, the government has proposed to create dedicated venture funds for start-ups in certain areas. A…
I spent the weekend attending the Young Investigator Meeting in Boston (YIM). Held at the Harvard-MIT Broad Institute and organized by a group of energetic and enthusiastic scientists, YIM Boston brought together scientists, policy makers and the heads of some…
Every Independence Day, one’s thoughts inevitably veer around to the abject poverty and destitution that consumes most of India. After more than 60 years of Independence, why do we continue to have widespread poverty? Watching “Peepli Live” — a fantastic…
I think we have gone through a period when too many children and people have been given to understand, “I have a problem, it is the Government’s job to cope with it!” or “I have a problem, I will go…
Speculating whether India can spawn innovative companies like Apple and Google is a favourite parlor game among venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. It’s clear that there is staggering talent and creativity in the country, and it seems more a question of…
“This Budget belongs to ‘Aam Aadmi’. It belongs to the farmer, the agriculturist, the entrepreneur and the investor. The opportunity is great. The time is right. I have placed my faith in the hands of the people who, I know,…
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will be presenting Union Budget 2010, the annual economic policy statement of the Government of India, on Friday. In most nations, this would be insignificant, but the Budget is probably the most significant annual event for…
Harsh Gupta and I have co-authored a piece on why India should scrap the Securities Transaction Tax (STT): A transaction tax on securities barely hurts the speculator, but makes several trading strategies that provide liquidity and depth to the market…