P. Chidambaram—who during his various stints as finance minister has come to be seen as the champion of economic reforms in the country—communicates reforms to his people and, in fact, implements them. He is one politician who can sell good economics as good politics. N. Madhavan visits his constituency, Sivaganga, to test the hypothesis.

Slowdown is a time to refrain from the adventurous and return to the safe, tried and tested. Here’s a walk through what’s once again in flavour and what’s gone out the window.

While financial services giants have posted huge losses overseas, they are either making substantial profits or planning ambitious expansions in India.

The slowdown is fuelling the explosive growth of malware or malicious software and both India Inc. and Indian consumers are in the firing line.

IT, ITES worst-hit; Healthcare and Pharma in welcome uptick.

A SEBI committee moots physical settlement in derivatives. But the markets may not be ready for the transition yet.

The financial slowdown has set back many households on their debt repayments. BT examines some of the options and how you can bridge the gap.

The often unseen cost of attrition, voluntary and involuntary, can be staggering for organisations. Here's your primer on good and bad leavers.

TeamLease’s India Labour Report 2008 presents a practical, well-thought-out and measurable way to cut unemployment and poverty.

Private sector life insurance firms have expanded rapidly. But mounting losses and a cash crunch suggest that many are feeding on the future.

Reverse mortgage, a scheme designed for senior citizens to help them tide over their golden years with ease, has not taken off in India. A lack of loan culture is a big reason.

The wait for the Nano could spur competitors— of the four-wheeled and two-wheeled variety— into action.

In its five years at the Centre, the United Progressive Alliance government persevered for just one goal: Survival. Here’s a rating for its key ministers.

Nearly 78 per cent Indian women from less-privileged backgrounds want to become entrepreneurs, says a study. TiE has now taken the lead to help them.

Flexible benefits for employees are gaining popularity across the world, and has got India Inc. interested, says a Mercer study.

In today’s distressed times, it may seem like an oddity, but according to New York Life Insurance (NYL) President and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman-elect Ted Mathas, the company seems to have weathered the storm quite well.

Stagnant urban demand, collapse of export markets and relative rural prosperity are drawing companies to the countryside. Which means that the slowdown has not impacted the rural markets as much as their urban counterparts, reports Tejeesh N.S. Behl.Reform to Re-farmOn the farm trailColour of money

Despite the appalling gaps in the delivery mechanics—cold chains, warehousing, processing centres and logistics—there is enough today to make entrepreneurs tackle specific projects in the farm-to-the table value chain. Entrepreneurs and investors are making most of the business opportunities that abound in the farm-to-fork value chain. Shamni Pande reports.

There has been an unprecedented rise in rural prosperity over the past two decades and new technologies have come in to partly offset poor infrastructure. Companies in agri-business are finally catching the pulse of the farmlands. Shalini S. Dagar goes into the details.

Several key reforms were stalled and reversed when agri-business was about to take off.