-Economic and Political Weekly This article challenges the prevailing view that the diminished electoral prospects of the United Progressive Alliance government is the result of neglecting growth to launch populist welfare schemes. It looks at a wide range of economic indicators to argue that compared to the National Democratic Alliance regime, the UPA period has been characterised by faster growth, higher savings and Investment, growing foreign trade and capital infl ows,...

-Down to Earth China takes over from Europe as the largest investing region Investment in renewable energy sector is on the decline globally, according to a report. Total Investment in renewable power, excluding large hydro-electric projects, fell to $214 billion globally in 2013. This was 14 per cent lower than 2012 and 23 per cent lower than in 2011, says a recently released report titled Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment in...

-The Hindu   Ideological labels are likely to mislead by channelling the debate into issues of capitalism and socialism and detract from the real problem George Santayana said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Having forgotten the license-permit-quota-raj that enveloped us from 1950 to 1980 and its ‘crony socialism,' many intellectuals, mediapersons and politicians have now discovered ‘crony capitalism.' The license raj consisted of stifling controls imposed on...

-The Business Standard FDI in multi-brand retailing could be reversed if the party forms govt; India Inc seeks review of manifesto The Bharatiya Janata Party manifesto decision to oppose foreign direct Investment in supermarkets has made the sector more wary. The United Progressive Alliance' policy to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail in September 2012 could be reversed if the BJP comes to power at the Centre. "The policy can be...

It seems that a long-drawn-out battle among economists about economic growth trickling down into development has found some solid answer. A recent paper published in the Lancet Global Health journal (April, 2014), which has been jointly written by a team of experts based on evidence from 121 Demographic and Health Surveys from 36 low-income and middle-income countries shows that there exists little or no association between increases in per capita...