Over the last few decades thenon-party volunteer organisations have been much more effective in Indian public space and more articulate in policy debates than the traditional Left parties. This essay, while recognising the manifold achievements of these organisations, reflects on the serious limitations of the activities of the voluntary sector and argues that when they usurp certain roles they can become a threat to representative democracy. [Pranab Bardhan (bardhan@econ.berkeley.edu) is at...

-The Hindu   Over 55 per cent of children in the age group 0-2 do not receive comprehensive immunisation in the country and approximately 2.7 million children under five do not receive any treatment for diarrhoea, a major killer of children. Among 25 developing countries, India has the highest number of children who do not receive even the most basic of healthcare services, according to new research by Save the Children. It also...

Delivering the Setalvad Memorial Lecture, on April 16, Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia cautioned the judiciary against exceeding their judicial functions. His remarks are particularly relevant to the increasing tendency of judges of superior courts to issue directions to government, to correct and monitor government’s functions, and to even make policy decisions which are in the domain of government — as if there was no separation of functions between...

Ahmedabad : In a five-page concept note that will be further expanded and which is expected to guide the government policy during the 12th Five-Year Plan for the state, 10 senior academics have pointed out the areas of concern in rural parts of Gujarat. They have put forward a proposal before the state. The paper is a result of a meeting chaired by IRMA chairman Professor Y K Alagh on the...

As higher urbanisation has long-term consequences for governance, the latest numbers should serve as a heads-up to the planners. More Indians are moving into towns now. According to the 2011 Census, the urban population grew by 90.99 million between 2001 and 2011. The absolute increase in the rural population over this period was 90.47 million. Put differently, urban population grew by 31.8 per cent, a little over two-and-a-half times the corresponding...