It is official now that the poverty in India is much more than earlier estimated. The Suresh Tendulkar Committee report submitted this month (December 09) estimates poverty in India at over 37 per cent (2004-5) and not at 28 per cent as calculated earlier. With recent price rise in food items factored, the current level could be even higher (See the link of the report below). The Government of India had...

Government and regulators need to focus on the systemic risk engendered by excessive compensation. As calendar year 2009 draws to a close, it is bonus season for the financial sector in the West. In the last several months, the need to cap bonuses and compensation packages has been extensively discussed in the context of limiting the future impact of the next financial sector breakdown. On December 9, 2009, the UK was...

For a country looking to reap its demographic dividend when most other economies would be struggling to cope with ageing populations, the health of India’s under-five population should be a huge concern. Almost half (48%) of children under the age of five are stunted, or too short for their age, and 43% are underweight, according to the National Family Health Survey of 2005-06 (NFHS-3). The primary cause, finds the survey,...

There is every sign that India is launching into a period of rapid urbanisation. In the next 30 years, an additional 350 million people will have to be accommodated in our existing towns as well as in brand new urban spaces. Given our inability to cater to even the existing Urban Population, there are serious concerns about our ability to deal with the influx. Are we entering a world of...

A team from the World Bank will be in New Delhi soon to work out the nitty-gritties of a $1-billion loan to the urban development ministry for carrying forward the cash-starved flagship scheme for upgrading urban infrastructure, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). There would, however, be conditionalities attached to the use of the fund as it would be reform-linked and only select states would get access to...