-The Business Standard NAC shouldn't have seen growth as the enemy of welfare For the nine years of the United Progressive Alliance government, the National Advisory Council led by Sonia Gandhi and including many well-known people from the corporate and non-governmental organisation world - mostly those with a left-of-centre perspective - has been the focus of much Attention. The conventional narrative is that the NAC represented Sonia Gandhi's socialist instincts, and regularly...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Congress' efforts to secure support for the food bill in its present form have run into trouble, with the Opposition seeking radical overhaul of its provisions and SP, which lends outside support to the ruling coalition at the Centre, asking the government to junk the proposed legislation. The National Food Security Bill is considered to be the world's largest experiment in ensuring food security to poor as...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Concern over the anti-Naxal policies not yielding desired results despite massive fund allocations and ambitious development schemes found voice at the meeting of the UPA coordination committee meeting on Monday. The discussion, held in the wake of a massacre of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh on May 25, saw leaders pondering whether the government is getting it right in terms of its policy efforts and needs to...

-Economic and Political Weekly   A report on the 2013 deliberation of the Kolkata Group at its 10th workshop which focused on healthcare, the status of women and social justice in India. A K Shiva Kumar (akshivakumar@gmail.com) is convener of the Kolkata Group workshops which are organised by Pratichi (India) Trust, the Harvard Global Equity Initiative and UNICEF India. At the 10th annual Kolkata Group workshop in February this year, 40 policymakers, development practitioners,...

-Outlook The Maoists want a military conflict as it brings more adivasis into their fold. The Indian state's best bet is in ensuring that it wins over the aam adivasis to its side.   May 25th's condemnable attack by the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, which ended up killing and injuring over 50 people from Congress politicians to migrant adivasi labourers, cannot be understood without recognising the Maoist party's explicit political aims. These...