Exclusive: The Great 'Indian Rupee' Fall, USD at Rs 60?

By M H Ahssan / Hyderabad

As the rupee heads south, the right questions for the Reserve Bank and the Finance Ministry to ask are the following: One, should we artificially try to prop the rupee up? The answer is no. No power on earth can stop the rupee from going down if it wants to, especially when the current account deficit (CAD) – the gap between our external payments and receipts – is so bad. The RBI Governor has said the right thing by emphasising that his only job is to manage volatility, not find the right price for the Indian currency. He should stick to this stand despite pressure from North Block to do something. Doing nothing is best.

Will Modi End Up Becoming Next Advani In BJP?

By M H Ahssan / Hyderabad

For those supporting or opposing the rise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP’s Goa conclave was the event to watch for. While the most ardent of his backers hoped for his anointment as the party’s PM candidate, others, with perhaps equal  anticipation, looked forward to tear into Modi’s elevation in the party.

However, the BJP leadership did the smart thing by keeping its cadre and those opposed to the Gujarat Chief Minister pleased. With party patriarch LK Advani still not ready to bite the Modi-bait and the disenchantment of allies like JD(U) with the Gujarat CM, the party has taken a smart step to test waters.

Social Investments Making Positive Impact In India

By Namrata Singh / Mumbai

With growing social capitalism, impact investing is picking up pace in India. Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm cofounded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, is looking to invest $200 million in for-profit and nonprofit organizations across India in 3-5 years, while, on the other hand, Gray Ghost Ventures, a large impact investor globally, plans to invest $60 million in the country over the next 5 years. 
    
The Rockefeller Foundation has recently provided a $480,000 grant to Dasra, as part of its commitment to develop the Indian impact investing industry and unlock more impact capital originating from within the country. Besides, it has given a grant of $200,000 to Villgro Innovations Foundation, toward the costs of its social entrepreneur and enterprise development programme, which trains early-stage social entrepreneurs to refine their business model and scale their social impact to create positive benefits for poor or vulnerable people in India.

All Of Bengal’s A Stage, Mamata Revels In Political Theatre

By Soumitro Das (Guest Writer)

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, being a pukka bhadralok, has every right to abhor the kind of language used by Mamata Banerjee. It, he says, makes him want to throw up. The street language often used by Bengal’s current chief minister is not a normal part of a bhadralok or a bhadramahila’s vocabulary, inflected as these are with Tagorean resonances and a grooming in the higher literature of Bengal. 
    
Mamata may be aware of this and trying to hide this by professing a parvenu’s eagerness to honour artists and intellectuals, giving them lucrative sinecures that lie within her discretion.

Opinion: Liquor Politics On Eve Of Elections In AP

By Syed Amin Jafri (Guest Writer)

With the Assembly elections less than a year away, political parties in the state are back to their favourite game of playing “liquor politics.” This time, they are not talking about imposing “total prohibition” again but they would like to check the “liquor menace” by closing down belt shops! Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy set the ball rolling last month by asking the prohibition and excise department officials to launch a drive for closure of belt shops. Promptly, leader of opposition and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu promised to impose a ban on belt shops if his party regains power in the next elections. 

Special Report: Banks Forcing To Prepay Gold Loan?

By Shaukat Ali / Mumbai

Here’s what you can do if you have been asked by your bank to prepay the entire gold loan immediately or increase the collateral. Last week, Kochi-based Anjana Badoor discovered that the option to prepay a loan does not rest with the borrower after all. “I had taken a loan of 50,000 last year from a public-sector bank against jewellery roughly worth 75,000. Though the loan tenure was two years, I was asked to prepay the entire outstanding amount immediately,” says the 53 year old. Given that she was servicing her EMIs on time and in full, Badoor can’t understand what prompted her bank to force her to prepay the loan. 

One Dish, But So Delish, India's Best Food Entrepreneurs

By M H Ahssan & Niloufer Khan

How friends and social networks allowed these amateur cooks to pursue their passion. Many of us have that one dish we think only we can make best—and it feels great to have friends and family tell us repeatedly how wonderful it is. But does being good at making one thing, or even five, qualify anyone to open a restaurant or catering service? Four food entrepreneurs, who got into the business of cooking, baking, tea-making, and liqueur-producing for strangers simply because they believed in their talent, show us how it can be done.

Exclusive: Deadly 'J-Virus' Cripples India Infra Story

By M H Ahssan / Hyderabad

The vast swathe of India’s infrastructure deficit wasteland is crying out. The cry is ominous and hurtful. For years now, India has been like a wailing widow, going from one global pit stop to another, asking for investment into the country.

What began in 2004 as a $ 500 billion deficit has over time transformed into a trillion dollar gap. There have been road shows and more road shows, but firang bulge bracket investors have shown no interest whatsoever in engaging with India. The policy-judicial environment has made investors wary and the general thinking has been determined by the fact that there is an all pervasive pall of uncertainty.