The monetary mix up

The US dollar/Rupee rate nearly broke the psychological level of Rs 25 in the early weeks of this month rising from a peak rate of Rs 33 per dollar in the last quarter of 2006.  Against the Euro, it strengthened nominally by around 7% over the same period whereas vis à vis the pound, the hike in the rate was around 25%.

The welfare state: Status quo or reform ?

  After more than three decades of remarkable progress with sustained economic growth and significant improvement in the standard of living, Mauritius found itself, at crossroads, in the midst of a challenging environment - a new era where the protected environment in which it has been evolving so far is fast withering away. The daunting challenges were:  the phasing out of external trade preferences for its textile and sugar, the entry into the world economy of vast new sources of hard-working and highly motivated cheap labour from economic powerhouses such as China and India;