Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh, in an article on left-wing extremism (“From Tirupati to Pashupati?” The Hindu , October 14, 2011), observed candidly: “It is not the naxals who have created the ground conditions ripe for their ideology — it is the singular failure of successive governments both in the States and the Centre.” There lay the main cause of the festering sore of naxalism, often characterised as left-wing...
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Food Security Bill likely to hurt the poor more
-The Economic Times The Food Security Bill cleared by the Cabinet is likely to hurt the poor more than it helps them. India already has 54.7 million tonnes of rice and wheat lying as stocks with the Centre and the states, 29.7 million tonnes of grain in excess of the buffer stocking norm. Offtake of rice in the current fiscal year has been 74% of the allotment, and that of wheat,...
More »West Bengal's missing data
-The Business Standard A data battle is exciting news for us, almost like what breaking news is to many others. We’ve been closely tracking the ‘Curious Case Of West Bengal’s Missing Numbers’ for a few months now. The case is getting more interesting, almost mysterious, as the results of a Right To Information (RTI) petition filed by ISPR Research Fellow Sourjya Bhowmick with the Ministry of Finance show. A few weeks ago,...
More »FDI in Retail: Misplaced Expectations and Half-truths by Sukhpal Singh
The central government claims that allowing foreign direct investment into India’s retail sector will benefit small farmers, expand employment and lower food inflation. What has been the experience in India with organised retail so far and what has been the global experience with FDI? Sukhpal Singh (sukhpal@iegindia.org) is currently at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. After being under relentless attack for a week, the United Progressiv Alliance government was forced to...
More »Rupee depreciation needs to be viewed holistically; not necessarily a 'train crash': Amartya Sen
-The Economic Times Nobel laureate and professor of economics at Harvard University, Amartya Sen believes developed world policies are worsening the global crisis and leaving emerging economies exposed. During an interaction with the press, he also said the recent rupee depreciation needs to be viewed holistically and is not necessarily a 'train crash'. Excerpts: What is your assessment of the current global situation? I think the global situation is pretty bad...
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