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How did Vinod Rai metamorphose from just another nondescript bureaucrat, albeit an upright one, to a crusader against corruption who acquired iconic status? One reason is related to the fact that he became a constitutional authority, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. T.N. Seshan, who was reportedly a pliant bureaucrat, starting roaring like a lion after he became the head of the Election Commission. Mr Rai’s present persona is a product of circumstances, a consequence of the...

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started a preliminary enquiry into allegations that the former chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), J Hari Narayan unduly favoured Reliance General Insurance Company more than five years ago. The investigating agency is inquiring into whether there was any mala fide intent in a decision taken in July 2009 by Narayan to reduce from Rs 17,500 crore to Rs 20 lakh the potential penalty that could have been levied on the...

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started a preliminary enquiry into allegations that the former chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda), J Hari Narayan unduly favoured Reliance General Insurance Company more than five years ago. The investigating agency is inquiring into whether there was any mala fide intent in a decision taken in July 2009 by Narayan to reduce from Rs 17,500 crore to Rs 20 lakh the potential penalty that could have been levied on the...

The September 24 decision of the Supreme Court of India to cancel the allotments of all but four out of the 218 coal blocks that had been granted by the Union government between 1993 and 2010, mainly to private companies, will have far-reaching consequences for the Indian economy. While it cannot be doubted that there could be some short-term glitches in the supplies of domestically-mined coal which, in turn, could increase imports of coal if electricity generation is not to be adversely...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making waves meeting the high and mighty from across the planet. But back at home, many in the party to which he belongs and which is headed by his confidante Amit Shah is no longer exuding the confidence they had even three months ago because of the unexpected outcome of the by-elections in different states. Indians want to hold their heads high in the comity of nations. But in a country where at least one out of four individuals is desperately poor and large...

The Polyester Prince is the title of a biography of Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of the Reliance group of companies, India’s biggest private corporate conglomerate, written by Australian journalist Hamish McDonald in 1998. Among other things, the book highlighted how, during the 1980s, the government changed rules relating to imports of raw materials used in the manufacture of polyester fibre to help the group at the expense of its competitors. Dhirubhai’s arch-rival used to be Nusli Wadia, who...

On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, a financial inclusion scheme that will ensure that at least one member of each and every family in India not only has a bank account with a debit card, but is also provided an overdraft facility of Rs 5,000, a life insurance policy of Rs 30,000 and accident insurance cover of Rs 1,00,000. On August 28, the day the scheme was launched, the government announced that 15 million new bank accounts had been opened...

On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), a financial inclusion scheme that will ensure that at least one member of each and every family in India not only has a bank account with a debit card, but is also provided an overdraft facility of Rs5,000, a life insurance policy of Rs30,000 and accident insurance cover of Rs1,00,000. On August 28, the day the scheme was launched, the government announced that 15 million new bank accounts had been...