Focus: Is India’s 'Reserve Bank' Doomed To Be Powerless?

The power struggle between India’s reserve bank and the Narendra Modi government is intensifying.

At the heart of the conflict is a new proposal by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission—first set up by the previous United Progressive Alliance government in 2011—that seeks to dilute the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) control over the country’s monetary policy.

Last week, a draft proposal from the commission suggested the formation of a monetary policy committee (MPC), where four out of the seven members will be appointed by the government. The draft also proposes taking away the veto power from the RBI governor.

How Can Online Advertisers Get Most Mileage For Money?

Advertisers often use multiple publishers for their online campaigns, but may not use the best metrics to decide which ones they should compensate. Should companies compensate the publisher who showed the last ad to a consumer before a purchase? Or, should they pay publishers every time they show the ads to prospective consumers?

Research by marketing professor Ron Berman finds that the “last touch” or “last click” method advertisers typically employ to compensate publishers is the wrong way to go about it. Berman’s research shows that the “last click” method entails a moral hazard in driving “adverse selection,” where publishers show ads to consumers who would buy the product anyway.

News Analysis: Did 'Yaqub Memon' Make A 'Big Mistake' By Trusting Indian Investigators And Government?

The unfortunate Mumbai blast convict Yaqub Memon finally got rejection for his all pleas to live in this world and ordered to get hanged on his 'birthday' when he turns 53 years, the gnawing question that will continue to stare us in the face is not if he ever participated in the conspiracy and its execution, but if the Indian investigating agencies betrayed him and used his own evidence to hang him.

The moot point is certainly not about law, but about ethics. If the evidence, even voluntarily submitted by him, proves his criminality, he deserves punishment. But if he was duped into a sense of safety, it was unethical because it would have made him complacent and thereby denied himself a fair shot at the legal avenues.

Remembering APJ Abdul Kalam: Perfect 'Crisis Manager'

TRIBUTE: As scientist and as president, Kalam asked the questions that pointed us in the right direction. My (Madhavan Nair) association with A.P.J. Abdul Kalam began in 1967 when I joined the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, Thiruvananthapuram. Through the years, he had been my guide and mentor. I learned about the technology behind rockets and project management from him. 

We worked together for nearly 20 years — first at Thumba and later on the satellite launch vehicle (SLV-3) project. I owe all my achievements to this great personality.

A Shocking Video Reveals How Pregnant Women Are Forcefully Vaccinated In An Open Field In Ranchi

Recently, a shocking video shows the brutality of health officials in Jharkhand state how the open vaccination were given to pregnant women. In Pundag village of Ranchi district, the absence of an Anganwadi Centre in the village means that pregnant women are forced to undergo check-ups and are vaccinated in an open field. “We aren’t comfortable undergoing check-ups in the open. We have to put up curtains to make ourselves comfortable or travel too far,” says a woman who delivered a baby recently.

Gurdaspur Terror Attack: Revival Of Khalistan Or ISI Plot?

By Likha Veer in Delhi

On a clear day, the dome of Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur is visible from the rooftop of Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahab in Pakistan. It would be, naturally, tempting for Pakistan to eye Gurdaspur as a soft target.

Geographically, Gurdaspur is vulnerable to infiltration. On paper, anybody willing to enter the town from Pakistan would just have to navigate the Ravi and cross into adjoining Dinanagar, the third largest municipality of Gurdaspur and erstwhile summer capital of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. This is the route terrorists currently holed up inside a police station in Dinanagar seem to have taken.

The Art & Science Behind Eating A Meal On A Banana Leaf

It's a familiar sight at south Indian weddings or at weddings involving a South Indian bride or groom--the uncertainty of the guests encountering a meal served on a banana leaf for the first time. How to eat, where to start, how to fold--many questions arise when you sit before a glorious banana leaf meal for the first time.

Comedy group Put Chutney has come up with a video guide to solving this problem.

At the end of the meal, to indicate if you've liked the food, fold your banana leaf towards you, and vice versa.

Why The 'Falling Price' Of Gold May Cause 'Optimism'?

By M H Ahssan - Editor in Chief

WEEKEND ANALYSIS: The love affair with gold as a financial instrument can be traced back for centuries. Gold prices have tumbled to a five-year low. As a tradeable commodity, the price of gold is largely linked to supply and demand. While supply remains fairly fixed, demand is shaped by the state of the global economy and investor perceptions of gold’s value as an asset – this is in turn shaped by the strength of the US dollar.

The intrinsic value of gold has long made this precious metal a useful resource in the absence of legal or reliable money. The ease at which gold may substitute for currency means that during turbulent economic times gold is a valuable asset to hold.