CONTENTS

October 22, 1994 Tax Reform: Taking Stock Three years may be too short a period to judge the results of the government's tax reform undertaken as a key component of structural adjustment. Even so, some stock-taking of what has been achieved in the light of the declared goals is in order. Considerations of both horizontal and vertical equity require that the base of direct taxes should be truly broad and should include, in the case of income tax, all elements that are ingredients of economic power. The Indian tax system is yet to come to grips with this task. Further, broadening the base must be extended to indirect taxes and it would be idle to think that the tax system can deliver the goods without a comprehensive tax on consumption such as the VAT. 2809 Constructing the Female Body A crucial subtext can be read in the feminist agitation against Depo-Provera, the injectable hormonal contraceptive that the female body is not to be problematised as the site of pathology and victimised for its potential fertility. An investigation of traditional Hindu cultural constructions of the female body and the meanings of menstruation suggests that, purged of its patriarchal bias and fertility fetishism, traditional Indian culture encodes more 'woman-friendly' constructions of the female body than those of the western biomedical model. 2817 Changing India What is happening around us is both bizarre and depressing. The country is currently the victim of a fantastic confidence trick. The New Economic Policy has led to the halving of the national rate of economic growth compared to the 1980s. The most staggering development, however, is the obliteration of the old scales of values and their supplanting by moral and decency codes transmitted by the satellite television channels. A conversation between friends. 2783 Press Ownership Under the spell of the unstoppable march of liberalisation, the government, left to itself, is likely to reverse the long-standing strategic policy barring foreign ownership within the Indian press sector. An effective campaign against the move must, therefore, press for legislation aimed at keeping foreign players out of the press. 2787 Fight for Survival The coming assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh will be decisive for the Telugu Desam party's survival. 2791 From G ATT to WTO Many developing countries, which were not satisfied with the Tokyo Round' of GATT, had hoped that through the Uruguay Round amendments, they might be able to control the rogue elephant, the US, with its arbitrary actions under Article 301 of its Trade Act. But now instead of contending with one rogue elephant they will have to cope with a number of grasping octopuses in the shape of the transnational corporations. 2802 Saving Biodiversity A grass roots movement directed at conserving the biodiversity of crops, even while strengthening food security, has shown promising results in three different ecological regions: the hills of Garhwal, the Deccan region and the western ghats. 2795 Troubled Troika The widening gulf between the proand anti-Koirala factions in Nepali Congress shows that the 'troika' system on the basis of which the party has functioned has become an obstacle to the growth of democracy in Nepal. 2798 Foreign Capital Will external capital inflows into the Asia-Pacific region remain largely confined to a small number of high-growth east and south-east Asian economies or will it spread to other countries of the region, especially in south Asia, which encompasses some of the most populous countries of the world? 2829 Founder-Editor: Sachin Chaudhuri For the Big Fish 2771 Urban Development: Impending Implosion CPI(M): Explanation Overdue - Pakistan: Mounting Opposition US and North Korea: Another Door Opened 2772 In the Capital Market 2775 Current Statistics 2776 Companies 2778 Civil Liberties States' Minorities Commissions