The steadily rising rate of economic growth in India has recently been around 8 percent per year (it is expected to be 9 percent this year), and there is much speculation about whether and when India may catch up with and surpass China’s over 10 percent growth rate. Despite the evident excitement that this subject seems to cause in India and abroad, it is surely rather silly to be obsessed...

Poor allocation of funds to key social sectors shows the government’s lacklustre approach to inclusive growth. We are reaching the end of a remarkable fiscal year,” said the finance minister as he rose to present the Union Budget 2011-12. Agreeing with the government that the year gone by presented us with several opportunities and challenges to address critical concerns pertaining to the social sector, the overall sense is that this Budget,...

Providing free and compulsory education for all children aged between six and 14 under the Right to Education (RTE) Act violated the unfettered rights of unaided schools in making admissions of their choice, senior counsel Vikas Singh argued in the Supreme Court on Thursday. Under the Act, every child in the said age group shall have the right to study in a neighbourhood school till completion of elementary education. A three-judge Bench...

The Midday Meal (MDM) scheme catering to 12 crore children — all set to increase manifold with the implementation of the Right to Education Act — is likely to get a paltry increase of Rs 6 crore in the 2011-12 general budget. Last year, Rs 10,380 crore was allocated for the scheme. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) may see a big jump in allocation — Rs 21,000 crore from Rs 15,000 crore...

Even four years after the Sachar Committee Report revealed that Muslims were one of the most economically backward and socially disadvantaged communities, nothing much has been done to address the development deficits of this community. The Constitution of the republic of free India was crafted in troubled but idealistic times. The Indian people were still reeling from Partition bloodshed and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, in the dark shadows of politics...