-The Indian Express   The Planning Commission numbers show that in the unorganised manufacturing sector, value added per worker has come down by over 5 per cent in the last decade. The Congress and the BJP manifestoes for the general elections talk about the need for raising employment numbers in multipliers but hardly show any understanding of where to maximise those. For both, the Holy Grail is rising of the profile of the...

-The Business Standard   The Indian economy certainly has problems. But compared to the rest of the world, we will take ours any day Over the past couple of years, and particularly the past few months, we have become convinced that economists, the intelligentsia, fund managers, foreign brokers, don't read global macroeconomic news. All of the above have castigated the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for having ruined the economy, causing a massive growth...

-The Times of India Elections, it is said, are about spending big. This despite repeated poll panel efforts to curb candidate expenses. The EC rule book is clear: Each candidate is entitled to spend a maximum of Rs 70 lakh and it is mandatory for the nominee to file daily expenses. On the ground, a different story plays out and contestants find ways to beat the book. Politicians begin spending the day...

-The Hindustan Times Narendra Modi has in his poll speeches blamed the UPA government on more than one occasion for farmer suicides while admitting to just one such death due to agrarian reasons in 10 years in Gujarat. But an HT investigation has established his claim to be false. Copies of FIRs, last declarations by farmers and internal records of the state police accessed by HT reveal at least 54 farmers in...

-The Hindu Why does Gujarat have indifferent social indicators, in spite of having enjoyed runaway economic growth and relatively high standards of governance? Gujarat's development achievements are moderate, largely predate Narendra Modi, and have as much to do with public action as with economic growth. As the nation heads for the polling booths in the numbing hot winds of April, objective facts and rational enquiry are taking a holiday and the public relations...