-The United Nations   The global economy is expected to strengthen over the next two years, despite a downgrade of growth prospects for some developing countries and transition economies, and "stubbornly slow" job growth, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects 2014 mid-year update launched today in New York. "More than five years after the financial crisis, the world continues to struggle with getting the global economic engine back to...

-The Indian Express   Muslim deprivation is embedded in broader developmental challenges. Whenever the Indian electorate has been told that the country is doing well economically, it has displayed disbelief. This voter scepticism has not spared even the largest of national parties. The relatively successful economic performance of the last decade could not be projected effectively by the UPA. BJP/ NDA strategists were quick to take advantage of this and claim that the...

-The United Nations   Public procurement can contribute to making food systems more fair and sustainable, and help realize the human right to adequate food, according to a United Nations independent expert. "When sourcing food for schools, hospitals and public administrations, Governments have a rare opportunity to support more nutritious diets and more sustainable food systems in one fell swoop," Olivier De Schutter said in his final publication to the UN Human Rights...

-The Indian Express   India's rentier capitalism is an inset in the big picture drawn by Thomas Piketty   French economist Thomas Piketty has written a scholarly tome with the humdrum title, Capital in the 21st Century. The book has become an overnight sensation because Piketty documents an inherent tendency for ever-increasing inequality of income and wealth in capitalist economic systems. It is not an accident, he says, that many will be left behind...

-The Hindu The Polavaram multipurpose project has faced rough weather with non-compliance of environmental assessment and large-scale displacement The Union Cabinet's resolution last week - to clear the proposal for constituting the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) - has attracted cautious criticism from the Odisha government. With the general election in full swing and Telangana set to come into being, it is obvious that political parties would leave no stone unturned to gain...