If Rajiv Gandhi were alive, he would have been delighted to see his view on leakages confirmed by a research study on the public distribution system [How Can Food Subsidies Work Better? Answers from India and the Philippines by Shikha Jha and Bharat Ramaswami (http://www.adb.org/documents/working-papers/2010/economics-wp221.pdf)]. The ADB study showed that the deserving poor in India received only 10 per cent of the benefits from the system. Nearly twice accrues to...

Experts at a discussion on "Two decades of economic reforms: The way forward", organized by CII, Bihar state centre, said the economic reforms had not lessened the urban-rural divide; hence rural people could not generate substantial demand in the economy, though the savings rate enhanced in the last two decades. Director, Asian Development Research Institute, P P Ghosh, said the savings rate had increased from 12% in 1951 to 35%...

July is a month when we need to remind ourselves how reforms have changed India since 1991, from vulnerability to resilience, whether to external shocks (say, oil) or internal ones (droughts). In 2009, we witnessed the worst drought since 1972, yet the agricultural growth rate stayed positive (0.4%), nor did we resort to any major cereal imports. And in 2010-11, we are likely to have a record harvest of 241 million...

Over the last few decades thenon-party volunteer organisations have been much more effective in Indian public space and more articulate in policy debates than the traditional Left parties. This essay, while recognising the manifold achievements of these organisations, reflects on the serious limitations of the activities of the voluntary sector and argues that when they usurp certain roles they can become a threat to representative democracy. [Pranab Bardhan (bardhan@econ.berkeley.edu) is at...

Employment data indicates that India's recent growth has been largely jobless, the government must adjust its policies and promote job creation. Every five years, India's statistical system releases the results of a large scale sample survey that generates comprehensive data about consumer expenditure, employment conditions and much else. The results of the most recent survey conducted from July 2009 to June 2010 have just been released, and they have created shock...