Tuesday, 15 February 2005, 1300 hrs

TOP STORIES
India drops passport demand,
but bus still at the crossroads 
External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh’s diplomatic skills will be put to test over the next couple of days as he will have to cope with some fresh complications on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service 
 
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Metro rail: Long term
bond on the anvil
The Central and Karnataka governments will jointly float a 30-year bond for the Bangalore metro rail

Indian Express
Diplomacy won’t hurt 
Our main problem is that we have not been able to establish a working relationship with Khaleda Zia’s government which, to say the least, has not been friendly. New Delhi’s response to events in Bangladesh lacks finesse, observes KULDIP NAYAR 


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Asia Times
The privatization wave 
Is nothing sacred? Apparently not in the world of privatization, which has over the past decade turned over to profiteers not only essential services such as mail, energy and even national security, but the very stuff of life: water. In this race to the bottom, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are increasingly sold off to the highest bidder. By HENRY CK LIU

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India Together
A poor imitation 
We continuously embrace the capital-forming ideas of the West, without examination of the sometimes invisible support systems behind them, or ideas of citizenship in those nations. As a result, our grand ideas for development often produce grotesque results. The India Together editorial.

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Indian Express
Panchayats & employment guarantee
There is a far greater chance that left to themselves panchayats will implement employment guarantee schemes with a greater sense of responsibility. By A VAIDYANATHAN

EDITORIAL PICKS

Fake universities (Tribune)
Lower learning (Indian Express)
The Korean bomb (Tribune)
Miller: Death of a playwright (Tribune)
Bank on reform (Indian Express)
Resurrection in education (Pioneer)