The Public Accounts Committee, chaired by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi, on Wednesday described Union Communications Minister Kapil Sibal's recent comments on the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation as “improper” and “inappropriate.” The committee's comments came after BJP leader Arun Jaitley rubbished Mr. Sibal's remarks within a few hours of his press conference here. Privately, BJP leaders were talking about “breach of privilege,” though it was not...

The Supreme Court on Monday made it clear that it would not take cognisance of Media reports about the statement of Union Communications Minister Kapil Sibal disputing the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General and saying that no loss was caused to the exchequer in the 2G spectrum allocation. When counsel Prashant Bhushan took exception to the statement made by Mr. Sibal, Justice Singhvi observed, “The issue has now become debatable.”...

In post-globalisation India, middle-class heroes are usually entrepreneurs who make a fast buck, stars that glitter brightly and talk glibly, cricketers who hit the ball hard. In an aspirational world of consumer goods, fine dining and malls, values such as service, integrity, simplicity are becoming rare. Perhaps that is why the story of Binayak Sen, the skilled doctor who turned his back on material success to work among the poor...

There is nothing sinister or diabolic about Union minister Kapil Sibal’s latest argument regarding the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India pertaining to the loss to the exchequer from 2G telecom licences in 2007. The basic argument pertaining to the erroneous notion of “presumptive loss” has been made before and Mr Sibal’s arithmetic is credible. Too much need not be made about this being a ministerial...

Microcredit is losing its halo in many developing countries. Microcredit was once extolled by world leaders like Bill Clinton and Tony Blair as a powerful tool that could help eliminate poverty, through loans as small as $50 to cowherds, basket weavers and other poor people for starting or expanding businesses. But now microloans have prompted political hostility in Bangladesh, India, Nicaragua and other developing countries. In December, the prime minister of...