When we talk of India's mammoth work force, be it in rural or urban scenarios, what comes to mind is the 'unorganised' sector. They form the multitudes that do not 'belong' to a sector governed by a slew of measures in accordance with labour laws or employment terms defined by policy measures. These are the multitudes, which fall outside the ambit of Central Government legislation pertaining to wages and salaries....

The economic resolution adopted by the All India Congress Committee at the Burari session is a reiteration of the party’s last two election manifestos. It combines a commitment to rapid economic growth with that to redistributive policies that would help make the growth process socially inclusive. There is a helpful explanation of the three sources of inflation — excess demand, improved prices to farmers and global commodity price inflation —...

IT WAS a windfall five years ago that taught Panchali Satyavva the power of a lie. It happened one Monday afternoon in Someshwar village of Nizamabad district in Andhra Pradesh. It was raining in sheets and she had just placed a bucket under the steady trickle of water from the roof of her hut. Two men were at her door, holding umbrellas and offering her an unsolicited Rs. 5,000. They...

The Congress has proposed the introduction of an RTI-like legislation exclusively for “corporate corridors”, floating what looks like a nascent idea at a time some industrialists have criticised the government after the leak of the Niira Radia tapes. The suggestion was made in the latest issue of the Congress mouthpiece Sandesh and released today at the plenary where Sonia made an anti-corruption drive the cornerstone of her speech. “The Right to Information...

Chandrababu Naidu has managed to do outside the Andhra Assembly what he couldn’t within its four walls — train the national spotlight on the plight of farmers crippled by successive national calamities and inadequate compensation. The Telugu Desam president, who has been on indefinite hungerstrike at the new MLA quarters since Friday demanding higher compensation for farmers, was today forcibly taken into custody in the wee hours after a seven-hour drama...