-The Economic Times A new book by Bibek Debroy on Gujarat looks at how this much-talked about state has performed in economic terms. The author argues history, luck and administrative clarity have been the determining factors. There has been a discernible pickup in Gujarat's growth performance since the 10th Plan (2002-07), the five-year Plans being natural periods for breaking up the timeline. It's tempting to argue that there is nothing exceptional in...

-The Indian Express From Nariman Point to Tirupur, from broking firms to ancillary industries — as a two-part series in this newspaper has illustrated — the economy is seeing a steady contraction in employment opportunities. The economic and social cost is sobering but the UPA should also worry about the political implications. Lakhs of jobs are being lost when India is heading for a general election that could be decided primarily...

The government's efforts to widen the tax base are not paying off. New tax payers added over the past three years show a decline, while a staggering 89% of existing assessees are bunched in the lowest income bracket of Rs 5 lakh or less a year.  Numbers point to a worrying trend the government would want to reverse as while 17,84,709 assessees were added in 2008-09, the figure slid to 16,75,069...

Will Vijay Mallya commit suicide for running up huge losses at Kingfisher Airlines," asks Talaka Rajiah, a farmer near Parkala town, 35 kilometres from Warangal in Andhra Pradesh's Telangana region. "He will not. The government has already thrown some lifelines for him and the airline sector in the Budget," says Rajiah, who also happens to be the secretary of the Telangana Farmers Association. "But when it comes to farmers the...

-The Telegraph The state food and civil supplies department has during an internal audit detected a Rs 35-crore “scam” involving advance paid to 17 companies by the West Bengal Essential Commodities Supply Corporation Limited. State food and civil supplies minister Jyotipriya Mullick today handed over the audit report for the 2004-05 accounts to chief minister Mamata Banerjee. “An internal audit carried out by the department has revealed that Rs 35.86 crore was paid...