When flames from an open cooking fire raced through Fida Hussein's shack in northern India, it was a disaster for him and his poverty-stricken family. "We have nothing," said Hussein as he stood in the ruins of his hut through which the sky could be seen between the burnt roof timbers in a remote corner of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. India's number of millionaires grew by 51 percent...

Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto turned classical capitalism on its head with his trickle-up theory: that if you create wealth at the bottom of the pyramid, it will find its way up. de Soto, president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, speaks to The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta on NDTV’s Walk the Talk on the need for the poor to be able to participate in the global economy...

Anand Sharma rules out loss of jobs or displacement of small vendors A re-orientation of the policy framework was the need of the hour and enhanced foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail would transform the rural economy and generate massive employment and opportunities for both rural and urban youth. This was stated by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma here on Wednesday. This was his first comments to a discussion...

THE Indian Bureau of Mines, in its Indian Minerals Yearbook–2005, notes that Chhattisgarh has 28 different types of minerals, with coal and iron ore being the most abundant. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), in its comprehensive book Rich Lands, Poor People: Is ‘Sustainable' Mining Possible?, says that around 16 per cent of India's coal reserves, 10 per cent of its iron-ore reserves, 5 per cent of its limestone...

His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn’t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night. The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense. The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have...