-The New York Times Blog The strength and direction of the Indian economy may be up for debate, but one remarkable fact is not: There has been massive growth in the number and wealth of billionaires in India since the economic liberalization measures in 1991. The phenomenon has often been compared to the United States’ experience in the latter part of the 19th century. This was a period evocatively described by Mark...

-The Tribune India is governed by a written Constitution and any poLICy decision, programme by the Central or state government must be within the constitutional parameter of the Constitution. The State under our Constitution is mandated to protect the human rights. Any government poLICy, which seeks to shift this responsibility from the state to the private sector, would be, without anything more, unconstitutional and hence impermissible. The United Nations, since its inception, has...

-The Hindu India’s roads are deadlier than ever. The high rates of death and disability expose the lack of an organised system of traffic management and safety. Road safety is no one’s responsibility. It is time to make someone accountable. On the final day of this year’s ‘puja’ season in Chennai, a particular roadside temple near the iconic Central Railway Station had the long annual line of vehicles — vans, tempos, taxis,...

-The Hindu Have Emami and Karuturi bitten off more than they can chew in their land quest? Indian companies which invested in controversial deals involving hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Ethiopia have found themselves out of their depth in a fast-growing African economy that is still in the process of building critical transport and irrigation networks. Documents related to one such transaction reveal how Emami Biotech, a subsidiary of the...

-The HIndu In what’s being called a reverse sting, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) chairman Naveen Jindal has released video recordings which allegedly show Zee editors trying to extort Rs. 100 crore in return for the channel not airing damaging stories on coal block allocations involving his company. In a counter-offensive, Zee claims that it was JSPL which offered to pay the channel. At a dramatic press conference on Thursday, Mr. Jindal,...