-Live Mint     As a democracy matures, citizens become more willing to trust elected representatives to plan and take steps for the long-term growth and development One common complaint during this election has been that the election commission (EC) has to be consulted before the government and its regulatory agencies take any routine decision. Decisions relating to gas price hikes and bank licences all had to be cleared by the EC, whose over...

-The Guardian International Monetary Fund paper dismisses rightwing argument that redistributing incomes is self-defeating   The International Monetary Fund has backed economists who argue that inequality is a drag on growth in a discussion paper that has also dismissed rightwing theories that efforts to redistribute incomes are self-defeating. The Washington-based organisation, which advises governments on sustainable growth, said countries with high levels of inequality suffered lower growth than nations that distributed incomes more evenly. Backing...

-PTI WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund today described India's National Food Security Act as a landmark legislation which is an important effort to ensure that a majority of the population has access to adequate quantities of food at affordable prices. "The legislation is a landmark, representing the largest food security programme in the world, involving the distribution of subsidised grain to two-thirds of India's population of 1.2 billion," the IMF said in...

-Outlook Sydney: The OECD today said India needs to address its infrastructure shortfalls and pervasive state control in business activities, among other things, to maintain robust growth. In its 'Going for Growth' report, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) called for structural policy reforms to boost growth. "To maintain robust growth, India needs to address its infrastructure shortfalls, pervasive state control in business activities and unequal access to quality education. "It also...

-TheAlternative.in Over 600 million Indians have no access to toilets - if you line up the countries where open defecation is practised, India leads and also has more than twice the number as the next 18 countries with no access to toilets. The proportion is worse in rural India - where 68% of rural households don't have their own toilets (Source:NSSO, WHO). Why is open defecation an issue? Open defecation has been linked...