As sowing for the kharif crop season is now nearing its end, the focus has shifted to rabi crops. Though comfortable in cereals, the country is deficient in oilseeds and pulses. In an interview with Sanjeeb Mukherjee, Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) chairman Ashok Gulati said the government should not focus on palm and other oilseeds to correct this imbalance and also cut down on the import bill.

Q&A: Ashok Gulati, Chairman, CACP

Business Standard

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who completes 100 days in office this week, talks to Joe C Mathew on his governance initiatives and the state Lok Ayukta.

Q&A: Oommen Chandy, Kerala Chief Minister

Science and technology minister Vilasrao Deshmukh played a crucial role during negotiations between the government and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. In an exclusive interview with Sanjay Jog, the Congress veteran explains his role in ending the impasse.

Q&A: Vilasrao Deshmukh, Union minister for Science & Technology

Chief statistician T C A Anant feels that 7.7 per cent growth in the first quarter of this financial year can deliver 8 per cent growth for 2011-12. He tells Sanjeeb Mukherjee that a slowdown in construction activities could be blamed on high interest rates and low demand &mdash; this has also affected cement sector and hence mining.

Q&A: T C A Anant, Chief Statistician

The story of the Indian Railways has always been wrapped in mind-boggling numbers. At 64,000 km, it runs the largest rail network in Asia and is the world&rsquo;s largest commercial employer. The current financial year, however, has seen it face new financial challenges, largely because of the burden of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations for a pay rise for its employees and loss of freight traffic revenue.

Q&A: Samar Jha, Railway Financial Commissioner

Sanjay Dixit is a member of the Central Employment Guarantee Council, a statutory body set up under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). He was initially chosen by Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to head an NREGA cell in Uttar Pradesh where he has become an official whistleblower of sorts, unearthing several instances of fund diversion in many districts. He talks about the malaise in the five-year-old law that entitles rural households to 100 days of wage employment.

Q&A: Sanjay Dixit, Central Employment Guarantee Council

From a sarpanch (village council head) of Babhalgaon in the backward Marathwada region of Maharashtra to a Union minister of rural development and panchayati raj, Vilasrao Deshmukh has come a long way. Deshmukh, who has been the chief minister of Maharashtra twice, tells Sanjay Jog about the priorities and challenges in his role, especially when the Congress is struggling to keep the aam aadmi (common man) happy.

Q&A: Vilasrao Deshmukh

Former chief economist at the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz, is known for his scathing criticism of the American economic policies under President George Bush and Barack Obama. For him, economic normalcy is not the same as the end of Freefall caused due to lax regulations in a free market.

Q&A: Joseph Stiglitz, Professor, Columbia University

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is adamant on its demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into three different corruption cases that are hitting the headlines.

Q&A: Sharad Yadav, the convener of the NDA

Stanley Fischer, the non-Israeli who&rsquo;s been governor for the past six years of that county&rsquo;s central bank, the Bank of Israel, says the economic relationship with India is a slowly growing one. He spoke to Indivjal Dhasmana on way to Mumbai for a lecture he was to deliver at the Reserve Bank of India&rsquo;s invitation.

Q&A: Stanley Fischer, Governor, Bank of Israel

You became the vice-chancellor of Darul Uloom recently and now there are reports you are going to resign.

Q&A: Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi

Concluding his trip to India, US commerce minister (secretary, in official parlance) Gary Locke said the Indian government assured him that tariff and non-tariff barrier issues faced by American goods and services would soon be addressed. In an interaction with Nayanima Basu, he said the visa issue was for a limited period and wouldn&rsquo;t impact small and medium enterprises.

Q&A: Gary Locke, US Commerce Secretary

Development of 10,000 MW Jaitapur power project in Maharashtra is being debated especially on issues of application of six European pressurised reactors and impact on environment due to radiation. In an interview with Sanjay Jog, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd&rsquo;s joint director Shashikant Dharne explains company&rsquo;s stand.

Q&A: Shashikant Dharne, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd

Research and development-based pharmaceuticals accounts for 17 per cent of total business R&amp;D investments in the European Union. Traditionally, Europe has had a massive lead over the rest of the world in the industry. However, competition in the field is heating up. European pharma has been investing in India, which it views as an important market and manufacturing base.

Q&A: Brian Ager, DG, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations

Yashwant Sinha, who presented five Budgets under the Vajpayee government, tells Shikha Shalini the present government seems unable to meet popular expectations on economic management.

Q&A: Yashwant Sinha, Opposition leader

Management institutes across the country are up in arms over recent guidelines issued by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) governing the post graduate diploma in management. The Education Promotion Society of India (EPSI) and Association of Indian Management Schools have approached the Supreme Court seeking reprieve from the current guidelines.

Q&A: H Chaturvedi, Birla Institute of Management and Technology

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP), an official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines and other healthcare products, has been working in India for over 10 years, mostly supporting Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers who want to get into the US market.

Q&A: Roger L Williams, United States Pharmacopeia

The Centre is seriously concerned over rising cases of blackmarketing and hoarding and increasing prices of essential commodities. In an interview to Sanjay Jog, Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas explains the government&rsquo;s stand.

Q&A: K V Thomas, Union Minister

Saji Narayanan, a 53-year-old advocate rooted in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and trade union movement in Kerala, was elected president of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the country&rsquo;s largest trade union, this week, marking a shift towards younger leadership in the trade union movement. A member of the trade union delegation to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), he talks to Sreelatha Menon about the future of the union and labour in India.

Q&A: Saji Narayanan, National President, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh

With a tough balancing act to justify, between political and social imperatives and the needs of a tough commercial enterprise in a competitive market, Samar Jha, Indian Railways&rsquo; financial commissioner, explains the Budget calculations to Sudheer Pal Singh.

Q&A: Samar Jha, Financial Commissioner, Railway Board

Economic Survey 2010-11 is bulkier than last year&rsquo;s survey with over 450 pages. Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu has tried to offer something more. In an interview, Basu says how he tried to do things differently.

Page 70 - InterviewsS