-Live Mint The solutions to India’s growth problems require a more holistic approach Whether rightly or wrongly, there is a growing critique of India’s current development strategy: of a top-down, trickle-down theory that rides on an extraordinary growth momentum. They are disparate, but when the dots are connected they do present a coherent reminder that this strategy may not be the best and, worse, it is not sustainable. To a large extent this...

-The Economic Times Even as India gears up for cash transfers aimed at its poorest, Brazil has been running the Bolsa Familia (BF) cash transfer scheme, widely credited with helping cut inequality by 17% in five years, reducing Brazil's poverty rate from over 40% to 28.8%. BF is run by the National Secretariat of Citizenship Income (SENARC) of Brazil's ministry of social development. Luis Henrique Paiva, secretary of SENARC, spoke about...

-The New York Times ASHULIA, BANGLADESH: The fire alarm shattered the monotony of the Tazreen Fashions factory. Hundreds of seamstresses looked up from their machines, startled. On the third floor, Shima Akhter Pakhi had been stitching hoods onto fleece jackets. Now she ran to a staircase. But two managers were blocking the way. Ignore the alarm, they ordered. It was just a test. Back to work. A few women laughed nervously. Ms....

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organization), which manages lifetime savings of 6.15 crore individuals, has just made life tougher for workers. Employees will now have to prove that their employers deducted the statutory dues while giving them salaries, a move that will further benefit construction companies and contractors in particular who often claim that they have paid salaries to thousands of workers without actually transferring...

-The Economic Times DOHA: India faces the risk of devastating drought as monsoon rains are likely to have a shortfall of 70% in the years ahead, as climate change shakes up global weather phenomena, recent research and experts at a global conference said. The risk of adverse changes in global weather is aggravated by the fact that international efforts to act against climate change have been blocked by deep divisions among the...