-The Business Standard There is an urgent need to develop a strong warehousing system equipped with modern and scientific storage facilities Mumbai: Around 30% of India's foodgrains harvest gets wasted because it is unprofessionally managed in the warehouse, a joint study conducted by The Associated Chambersof Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) and Yes Bank, said.Owing to extreme dearthof about 35 million tonnes (MT) warehousing capacity together with massive foodgrain storage shortfall...

-The Hindu   Ideological labels are likely to mislead by channelling the debate into issues of capitalism and socialism and detract from the real problem George Santayana said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Having forgotten the license-permit-quota-raj that enveloped us from 1950 to 1980 and its ‘crony socialism,' many intellectuals, mediapersons and politicians have now discovered ‘crony capitalism.' The license raj consisted of stifling controls imposed on...

-The Business Standard   This report believes in demanding more, and cares little for inflation. It could have kept budgetary constraints in better focus and thrown more light on carbon-reducing innovations Fans of Rakesh Mohan reports will love this leviathan of a report. With 1,220 pages spread over three volumes, the report of the National Transport Policy Development Committee takes at least a week's effort to read. The analysis is in the second...

-Down to Earth Grand old party of India renews some old promises and makes some new ones, but will Congress live up to its promises if it wins a third term? The Indian National Congress (INC) presented its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Wedneday. The manifesto committee claimed the 48-page document was prepared after wide consultations by engaging millions of people, grassroots congress workers and every section of the...

-Live Mint   Rights laws offer an important lesson for the new government: you cannot legislate your way out of state failure It is well known that the Indian state suffers from a serious crisis of implementation capability. So deep is this crisis that it cannot even reliably perform the most routine tasks like moving money and getting employees to show up at work. So, it is hardly surprising that rights laws have...