-The Business Standard The dominant theme in the pre-election discourse is that misrule by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in its second term has led to sharply lower growth of gross domestic product (GDP), which Narendra Modi will reverse, the way he has made Gujarat shine. But the evidence on hand does not support this correlation between the quality of national political leadership and growth performance. If anything, there is...

-AFP Paris: Surging populations and economies in the developing world will cause a double crunch in demand for water and energy in the coming decades, the UN said Friday. In a report published on the eve of World Water Day, it said the cravings for clean water and electricity were intertwined and could badly strain Earth's limited resources. "Demand for freshwater and energy will continue to increase over the coming decades to meet...

-The Hindustan Times UPA's two programmes named after India's biggest political icons --- Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru --- have failed to deliver desired outcomes, the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) has said. The IEO, a body under the Planning Commission, is taking up a detailed study on the UPA's key schemes --- Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MG-NREGA) aimed at creating infrastructure...

-Outlook New Delhi: The future of the flagship scheme providing 20 kilolitres of water to households announced by the former chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hangs in balance as the Delhi Jal Board is yet to receive the final confirmation for provision of subsidy of Rs 165 Crore for 2014-2015 from Delhi government. "The Board was informed that on the matter pertaining to the provision of subsidy of Rs 165 Crore for the...

-Outlook Sydney: The OECD today said India needs to address its infrastructure shortfalls and pervasive state control in business activities, among other things, to maintain robust growth. In its 'Going for Growth' report, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) called for structural policy reforms to boost growth. "To maintain robust growth, India needs to address its infrastructure shortfalls, pervasive state control in business activities and unequal access to quality education. "It also...