Thursday, 17 February 2005, 1300 hrs

TOP STORIES
Breakthrough: India-Pak
bus service from April 7
The neighbours took a giant step forward in normalising bilateral relations when they agreed to start a bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad from April 7 
 
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
FDI in construction: not
just yet, says Centre
The Centre deferred a decision on the proposal to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the construction sector after it had informally warmed up to the idea

Asia Times
Two ways to cook the books 
Most observers of the Indian and Chinese economies have looked at foreign direct investment (FDI) figures as defined by the respective countries without looking at the underlying accounting frameworks that make FDI into China seem much more than India's. A debate has now been stirred in India, with influential sections of the government and business urging a change in accounting procedures. By PRIYANKA BHARDWAJ

* * * 

International Herald Tribune
Welcome to the Chinese
century? Not so fast 
Everyone has an opinion on who will lead Asia in the years ahead, including the Group of 7 industrial nations. This month, the group clearly seemed to be putting its money on China. Western markets also are trying to digest recent investment bank reports arguing that China and India will become the world's second- and third-biggest economies, says WILLIAM PESEK JR


* * *
New Indian Express
Stop being obsessive
Foreign Investment was not — it is even now not — just an obsession with our economists and policy makers. It is an obsession accompanied by an inferiority complex, says S GURUMURTHY



Asia Times
India's military hungry for more
The defense establishment is calling on New Delhi to increase military spending by 40% in the upcoming budget, nearly double last year's unprecedented increase. But some analysts argue that India should focus more on getting its intelligence-gathering infrastructure in order, rather than building on conventional weapons of war. By SIDDHARTH SRIVASTAVA

* * * 

Deccan Herald
Naga talks: the task ahead
Both the Government of India and the NSCN should move beyond the sterile formulas based on the territorial imperative. By M S PRABHAKARA


* * * 

Deccan Herald
Alternative sources needed
Spiralling global oil prices over the last five years might mark the beginning of the end of the era of oil, says PREM SHANKAR JHA

EDITORIAL PICKS

Dealing with Naxalism (Hindu)
Prongyang talks tough (Hindu)
Murder of Abhi Verma (Pioneer)
Delhi's stakes in Kabul (Pioneer)