-The Hindu Nationwide frustration arising from large-scale corruption by people in authority erupted in a wave of protests two years ago. Legislative remedies proposed as a response to public anger, such as the Lokpal and the Lokayuktas in all States, have still not become a reality. Adding to the aam aadmi’s sense of outrage, another important legislation that aims at ending administrative gridlock and corruption has run into political troubles. The...

-The Hindu Even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) frets over the high rate of inflation and wards off pressures to cut interest rates, it is faced with another challenge. Balance of payments data for the second quarter of 2012-13 show that the current account deficit continues to rise, and has touched a record 5.4 per cent of GDP. Both of these developments that would be considered signs of “overheating”...

-The United Nations The rapid growth of developing countries is propelling millions out of poverty on an unprecedented scale and radically reshaping the global system, according to a flagship United Nations report launched today. “The rise of the South is unprecedented in its speed and scale,” says the Human Development Report 2013, which uses the term “South” to mean developing countries and “North” to mean developed nations. “Never in history have the...

-First Post While the average Human Development Index (HDI) for the region is 0.558, below the world average of 0.693, South Asia saw the highest growth in the index between 2000 and 2012, according to the United Nations Human Development Report 2013. The region registered an annual growth of 1.43 percent in HDI, the highest compared to other regions. It also said that the developing countries as a whole are driving the...

-The Times of India An undercover sting investigation across India has shown up startling videos of bank executives of three leading private banks - HDFC, ICICI and Axis - providing ready assistance to a reporter, posing as a minister's aide, for laundering black money into white through the banking system in clear contravention of banking norms and laws. Shaken by the disclosure, the three banks asserted that they were committed to transparent...