-Outlook More government took Himachal near the top of development indices In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the buzz around the so-called ‘Gujarat model' was such that without really knowing what it stood for, everyone wanted it. ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance' is as close as one could get in terms of concrete proposals. However, when one looks at the achievements of Gujarat, the buzz turns to a whimper (see...

-Outlook The PM would do well to incorporate the Lok Nayak's convictions and what he stood for and not ape alien models to make India's villages as mere markets and show-pieces Narendra Modi was different from other Prime Ministers while addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15 August 2014. He spoke of governing India through sahmati (consensus) not bahumati (majority) and sought the cooperation of people and...

-The Hindu Business Line   Chemical-intensive agriculture has ravaged our soil quality. History tells us that the consequences could be catastrophic During the 86th birthday celebrations of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Indian farmers "deserve a standing ovation". However, he reminded the gathered scientists that it was not enough to sit in five-star seminar rooms and analyse why something could not be done; rather, they should...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today accused the developed nations of a "disinformation campaign" to "isolate" India for refusing to toe their line at the World Trade Organisation, painting his government before a domestic political audience as a champion of the poor. Addressing a party meeting weeks before his US trip next month, Modi pitched the recent controversy at the global trade body as a battle between the haves...

-The Telegraph In her recent Book, Green Wars, the environmental journalist Bahar Dutt, writes: "The editor of a leading media house, everytime I pitched a green story, would invariably complain: ‘Environmentalism is stalling growth; all I am interested in is double-digit growth for this country.'" The idea that environmental protection and economic progress are at odds is widely held among India's elite. It is shared by newspaper editors, economists, businessmen, and, not...