Lessons unlearned
W.B. Yeats' comment that the "best lack conviction whilst the worst are full of passionate intensity" seems to fit the pre-poll political scene. The first lists of candidates released by most political parties indicate that their resolve to keep criminals out of politics, so vociferously voiced at the special golden-jubilee session of Parliament, has evaporated into thin air.
Sowing discontent
Monday's firing on agitating farmers in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district, conforms to a sadly familiar pattern. Just three months ago, similar scenes were enacted in Haryana's Mahendragarh district when six farmers were killed in police firing while they were agitating for free electricity.
Keeping the criminal out of the fray
With the formal announcement of the dates of election to the Parliament, the model code of conduct has come into operations. Elections have been used by the persons involved in big scams to whitewash their crime. A new euphemism has been coined that it is the people's court which will give the final verdict.
Seek a social answer
Discretionary powers given to officials have contributed to the generation of corruption in a big way. Such powers are, like friction, a necessary evil. The legislatures provide only the skeleton of policies. The flesh and blood to legislative policies is provided by the executive through subordinate legislation in the form of procedures, rules and regulations.
The first green shoot
The recession in industry, now stubbornly into two years, may yet lift. Commercial bank credit is on the rise, though by less than that projected by the Reserve Bank. But this time round last year, bank credit to the commercial sector had been stagnant. Credit expansion, which accelerated in the third quarter of this fiscal, has been unexpectedly good.
Whither dynamism?
The report about the popularity of the export promotion capital goods (EPCG) scheme in this newspaper is alright as long as this gets reflected in export dynamism, but unfortunately there has been little evidence of this. It won't do to look at the export obligation but what the union commerce ministry should be concerned about is the growth trend.
