By Priya Nigam
As a child, I was quite fascinated by the supposed habit of ostriches burying their heads in the sand, believing they were protected from any danger. (To my great disappointment, I later learnt that this was a myth!) Anyhow, it seems like I have been somewhat of an ostrich myself lately. Talks of the US slowdown turned to recessionary fears and I thought this would not really impact India’s growth momentum. Speculations of a global slowdown were also not enough to dampen my bullishness about India’s prospects. But, Mr. P Chidambaram’s latest comments shook me out of my euphoria.
The Steel Industry across the
world is in a dilemma. Estimates show that the demand for steel has gone down
not because there is no need for it but rather because the feeder element of
the steel industry has been capped. As an industry, steel sales are directly
influenced by companies which require it for their purposes. When these
companies as part of an industry are themselves experiencing a tough time, then
they put projects on hold. It’s this that the steel industry has recognized as
the fundamental reason it’s started to experience a downturn. 
It was a ‘nuclear’ weekend in India
and a period which will go down in history as a big victory for the man who started
economic reforms in India; The Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh. The Nuclear
Suppliers Group giving India a waiver is an unprecedented move. A waiver that
allows India to do nuclear trade with the rest of the world without having to
sign the Non Proliferation Treaty or the NPT. What this means from the business
side of things is quite simple and gigantic: The World’s second fastest growing
economy is ready to spend Billions on nuclear energy and the rest of the World
wants to take advantage of this. 
