-The Hindu If India does not make effective use of the strengths of its youth now, it may never do Amartya Sen had once quipped that India’s unemployment figures were low enough to put many developed countries to shame. Professor Sen was, of course, not commending the country’s record in employment creation, but instead, highlighting the difficulties involved in measuring employment and unemployment in a developing country. Unemployment has been at the centre...

-The Indian Express The August numbers mark the first contraction in core infrastructure output since April 2019, pointing to the continuing weakness in demand conditions. New Delhi: The growth of eight infrastructure sectors contracted 0.5 per cent in August following broad-based deterioration in output across as many as five sectors, including cement and electricity. But for a turnaround in refinery products — the largest constituent of the core sector — and...

-The Hindu It is imperative to focus on agricultural production in devising a long-term solution to the problem of unemployment At a panel discussion hosted recently by the students of Delhi’s Ambedkar University, the topic was, ‘Are we heading for an economic crisis?’ Presumably, they had been prompted by the all-absorbing news of a slowing economy. It is indeed correct that such a slowing is taking place. Growth has slowed for the...

-The Indian Express Why tax sops are not enough? What can policy makers do? The story so far: A worryingly persistent slowdown dragged economic growth in India down to 5% in the fiscal first quarter, its weakest pace in more than six years. And while the recent weeks have seen the possible reasons for the slowdown, as well as the government’s policy measures to ostensibly help revive the economy being put under...

-The Hindu The credibility of the RBI, the CSO and the Niti Aayog has taken a beating in recent times due to political interference Nobel laureate Oliver Williamson pondered over an important question, around 25 years ago: “Why are the ambitions of economic development practitioners and reformers so often disappointed?” According to him, “one answer is that development policymakers and reformers are congenital optimists. Another answer is that good plans are regularly...