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Chakravarthy Rangarajan, who authored the official report recommending gold decontrol 25 years ago at the instance of the Rajiv Gandhi government and was amply rewarded ever since, appears to be a much disturbed person these days. His report led to the abolition of the Gold Control Act of 1962 and helped this poor country indulge in a big luxury of importing larger and larger quantities of gold year after year until it had worn the uncomfortable crown of being the world’s largest gold importer since 2010 with an all-time record volume of 1,006.3 tonnes as per the World Gold Council data.

New Delhi: In the backdrop of the recent heinous gangerape in the Capital, the Government has geared up to strengthen its network for tracking crime and cracking down gangsters.

The US Congress approval of a deal sparing the middle class from tax rise but letting the wealthy pay the higher pre-Bush rates—a personal victory for President Obama to redeem a campaign promise - along with a two-month deferment of spending cuts, lifted the threat of a “fiscal cliff” at the start of the New Year. However, it does little to give any immediate boost to the still fragile US economy, let alone lowering the levels of unemployment.

In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Cassius, a nobleman, speaking with his friend, Brutus confides in the latter that in the best interests of the public, Julius Caesar must be stopped from becoming the monarch of Rome. Cassius tells him “The fault, Dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” How apt is this quotation today! The solution lies in us not elsewhere.

How unethical the medical practice in private hospitals even in a country such as the United States of America — known for having one of the world’s strongest healthcare regulatory systems — could become was best exemplified by an investigative report recently published by The New York Times.