Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday singled out resilience of the Indian economy in times of global meltdown as a signature achievement of UPA II's first year in office, and pushed for "new frontiers" in implementing the social inclusion agenda, including food security act and education for all. In a spirit of introspection, Manmohan Singh, however, admitted that soaring prices of basic commodities remained a source of concern and stressed that...

UPA's 'Planning Commission' for its development agenda - the National Advisory Council - is in place. The Congress high command has chosen a constellation of individuals with formidable reputations to steer the social agenda in UPA's second term. The watchdog, to be headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, will include Madhab Gadgil, Harsh Mander, M S Swaminathan, Aruna Roy, Jean Dreze, N C Saxena, Farha Naqvi, Anu Aga, Narendra Jadhav,...

Posco, the world's fourth largest steel maker, was in January ranked among a global list of 100 companies that will last for the next 100 years. Interestingly, governance, transparency and capacity to handle environment-related issues are taken into account in selecting these 100 companies "Posco will not only last the next 100 years, but will go beyond, and India will play a big part in our story of survival and growth", CK...

The National Food Security Bill, 2010 that aims to provide subsidised foodgrain to the very poor is welcome, but its definition of ‘food security’ is too narrow. The Rome declaration on World Food Security (at the World Food Summit in 1996) states that “we, the heads of state and government ... reaffirm the right of everyone to have (physical and economic) access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the...

The PPP model proposed in the Eleventh Plan provides for no government or social control over education. It will lead to the privatisation and commercialisation of education using public funds.  Public-private partnership (PPP) has become a fashionable slogan in new development strategies, particularly over the last couple of decades. It is projected as an innovative idea to tap private resources and to encourage the active participation of the private sector...