-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 The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has honoured renowned economist and globalisation buff Jagdish N Bhagwati by inducting him into its Hall of Fame. The professor of economics and law at Columbia University, Bhagwati is the author of books as seminal as 'In Defence of Globalisation' and 'The Wind of the Hundred Days: How Washington Mismanaged Globalisation'. He spoke to ET about his decades-long campaign for trade liberalisation, his...

-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...

-The Hindu CM criticises move to remove levy obligation on sugar mills Chennai: Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has strongly opposed the Centre's decision to remove the levy obligation on sugar mills, contending that it will impact on the public distribution system in the State. Under the levy obligation, as part of the regulation of the sugar sector, every sugar mill mandatorily surrenders 10 per cent of its production to the Central government at a...