The only economic or social variable that has not moved since 1991 in India is our 93% informal employment in the informal sector. So, while we have smartly and substantially moved the needle on everything from foreign exchange reserves, infant mortality, school enrolment, market capitalisation, foreign investment, and pregnancy deaths, 9 out of 10 of our workers do not work in organised employment. Informal employment—what President Alan Garcia of Peru...

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lags far behind his ministerial colleagues in his wealth, details of which were made public on Monday. Details of the assets of 30 Bihar ministers, including Kumar's were uploaded in the government websites as a step towards ending corruption and promised by the chief minister. Kumar's moveable assets include Rs 31,760 in cash, Rs 57,770 in bank account, a Santro car of 2003 model, an old TV...

There has been a gross simplification of the issues involved in the exposures in the Radia tapes on the lack of integrity among mediapersons. In order to understand how exactly journalists really function it is necessary to understand the overall context in which they operate and clarify some of the persistent myths about what the profession is all about. Four myths in particular need to be dissected: That it enjoins...

In a gesture to the growing public disenchantment over scams and corruption in public life, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's New Year resolutions for 2011 include “cleansing” the country's governing processes. Wishing all Indians a happy New Year, Dr. Singh said in a brief statement that it was time to take stock of the year gone by and make a new beginning. “Let us dispel the air of despondency and cynicism. We...

For the Indian media, 2010 has been almost Dickensian: it’s been the best of  times, but also possibly the worst. A chief  minister resigning, a Union minister stepping down, senior politicians raided: when was the last time the Indian media could claim so many ‘victories’ in a single year? Yet, just as we were rejoicing at the return of  hard, uncompromising news journalism, along come the Niira Radia tapes to...