BHEL Disinvestments-An Attack On The Power Sector

THE media has cast the Left’s opposition to the proposed disinvestments of 10 per cent of BHEL as one more instance of its inability to change its ideology with modern times. Efforts also are made … Read more

FAILURE OF NPT REVIEW CONFERENCE: Global Disarmament Groups Slam US

NOT unexpectedly, the Non Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) month long (from May 2 to May 27) five-yearly Review Conference failed after the US spent the entire period either arguing about procedure or demanding that disarmament … Read more

No To US F-16s For India By Raghu

DEFENCE and strategic analysts around the world have been taken by surprise by the news, in the air for quite some time but formally revealed during the recent visit to India by US secretary of … Read more

Final Amendments To The Patents Act And Our Critics-II

IN all the examples given in Part I of the article (PD May 02-08, 2005), if the Left had referred this matter to the Joint Select Committee of the Parliament, 2002 Act with much worse provisions … Read more

Going, Going… Boeing!

THE Air-India (AI) Board finally announced its long-awaited decision on the procurement of new aircraft to replace its ageing fleet as well as to meet the challenging new environment in international air travel. To the … Read more

Final Amendments to the Patents Act and Our Critics

IN an earlier PD article, we had noted that some of the International NGOs such as Oxfam and MSF had made uninformed criticism of the Left intervention in the Amended Patents Act and painted an … Read more

Patents Amendments & The International NGOs

THE criticism emanating from the global activists and international NGOs regarding the Indian Patents Amendments Act seems to lack certain clarity. Are they arguing that India should have rejected unilaterally the flawed Trade Related Intellectual … Read more

The Union Budget And Alternative Transport Policies

BEFORE the budget, there is the recurring refrain that the only way forward lies in lowering taxes and stimulating” growth. If the neo-liberal economists are to be believed, the Left, in asking for higher taxation … Read more

Software Patenting: A Huge Blow To Indian History

THE latest Patent ordinance has already raised strong protests from the people for favouring global pharmaceutical MNCs. What has gone relatively unnoticed is its attack on the software industry, where computer programmes (read software) can … Read more

Asian Tsunami- Science, Development And Geopolitics

THE death toll from the tsunami that hit south-east and south Asia on December 26, 2004, has officially crossed 150,000 and is quite likely to cross the 200,000 mark as relief operations proceed and a … Read more

Tsunami Devastation

THE toll of death and destruction caused by the tsunami waves on December 25 and 26, mostly in south and south-east Asia but also in far-off Indian ocean islands and even on the east African … Read more

Misplaced Initiatives In The Health Sector

THE Common Minimum Programme announced by the UPA government had a number of portions that addresses issues related to health care in the country. Six months after the CMP was announced, it is time to … Read more