Someone stole my subsidy

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Delhiites are used to paying less than residents of other cities for power, water, and bus services provided by the government, so the withdrawal of subsidy on power has come as a "rude jolt" for them. They should be happy instead that they were enjoying a discount at state expense of around Rs 800 cr for four years. Apart from that, their bills had been snipped by Rs 3,450 cr. This was the loan that was given to private distribution companies from 2002, and was to be recovered from improved revenues resulting from a reduction in power thefts. It has been written off. Delhi residents are right in saying that higher tariffs should follow better service and not precede it. It is the reason they vehemently protested when rates were raised in 2005, forcing the government to somewhat soften the blow. But there is a paradox. Better service,....

Ambani squabble exposes politics of policy-making

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For the muck that he has been raked, Anil Ambani must get this year's award for investigative journalism! He has put a shadow of doubt on the neutrality of Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and questioned the veracity of investments that Reliance Industries claims it has made in the Krishna Godavari gas basin. The repeated adjournments forced on the Lok Sabha by Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, and the advocacy of Reliance Industries by Rajya Sabha MP Parimal Nathwani after openly acknowledging his affinity to the group, has brought the nexus between business and political interests sharply into the public eye. It is rare for an industrialist to take on a minister as openly as Anil Ambani has done, and rarer for them to carry on a campaign. I can only think of Saharashi Subroto Roy taking on the income tax department with full page advertisements declaring, in....