-The Hindu Despite its uneven history in India, decentralisation is vital to strengthen participatory democracy, facilitate responsive governance and enable public service delivery. Much has been written on decentralisation in India though, on the ground, there is very little to show despite the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments. The rationale for decentralisation comes from the need to strengthen participatory democracy, facilitate responsive governance, ensure greater accountability and enable public service delivery according to...

-The Indian Express According to sources, the authorities have taken strong note of the fact that Surendranath got involved in Yakub’s case without permission. The Supreme Court administration is contemplating action against Dr Anup Surendranath, who resigned as the court’s Deputy Registrar (Research) on Friday, after expressing his opinion that its decision in the Yakub Memon case amounted to “judicial abdication”. The court administration feels it was “gross misconduct” on Surendranath’s part to...

-Frontline.in   The Modi government has apparently realised that the private sector is not up to the task of driving growth. It hopes to fund its neoliberal dream of India becoming the fastest-growing emerging market through a combination of off-Budget borrowing and drastic expenditure reduction in key social sectors. IT will soon be a year since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office at the Centre....

-Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Finance Economic Outlook, Prospects and Policy Challenges Macroeconomic fundamentals in 2014-15 have dramatically improved. Highlights are: * Inflation has declined by over 6 percentage points since late 2013. * The current account deficit has declined from a peak of 6.7 percent of GDP (in Q3, 2012-13) to an estimated 1.0 percent in the coming fiscal year. * Foreign portfolio flows have stabilized the rupee, exerting downward pressure on long-term interest...

-Outlook It has taken 16 months, 400 interviews and over Rs 30 lakh for the ‘Death Penalty Research Project' to see the light of day. It has taken 16 months, 400 interviews and over Rs 30 lakh for the ‘Death Penalty Research Project' to see the light of day. Project head Anup Surendranath, an assistant professor at National Law University, Delhi, speaks to Uttam Sengupta. Excerpts: * What triggered this project in...