The total expenditure on central schemes for the poor and on the major subsidies exceeds the states' share of central taxes. These schemes are chronic bad performers due to a culture of immunity in public administration and weakened local governments. Arguing that the poor should be trusted to use these resources better than the state, a radical redirection with substantial direct transfers to individuals and complementary decentralisation to local governments...
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Where the jobs are-Rajeev Dehejia
-The Indian Express The International Monetary Fund’s recent downgrading of the growth forecast for India from 6.2 per cent to 4.9 per cent for 2012, which came on the heels of the decline in the actual growth rate to below 5.5 per cent in the first half of 2012, has brought reforms back to the centrestage of the policy discourse. Which reforms are needed and why? India’s growth trajectory has been unique....
More »Powered by diesel, utility vehicles sedans in sales -Ketan Thakkar
-The Times of India For the first time in the history of Indian automobiles, cumulative sales of utility vehicles (UVs) have overtaken those of sedans - all three-box cars, from the entry-level to the super-luxury segment - in the first five months of the fiscal year 2012-13. New launches such as the Mahindra XUV500, Maruti's Ertiga and Renault's Duster pulled in buyers still looking to benefit from the huge price differential...
More »A tale of errors-R Ramakumar
Contrary to the claims of the UIDAI, fingerprints are a highly inappropriate tool to uniquely identify individuals. Case 1: “There are nine checks on visa nationals arriving into the U.K. [United Kingdom]. The fingerprint matching check is the most recent. It is the least reliable. It is the least effective in terms of delivering against our requirements….” So stated Brodie Clark, the former head of the United Kingdom Border Force, to a...
More »'Reforms' for whom?-Ajit Balakrishnan
Two ways to advertise your modernity in India today: first is to carry an iPad, second is to declare that you are firmly on the side of 'reforms' There are two quick ways to advertise your modernity in India today. The first is to carry an iPad when you go for meetings, even if all you do with it is read email; and the second is to declare that you are...
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