The 11th five-year plan promised the nation “inclusive growth”. It marked a departure from the earlier official position that the “benefits of growth” would automatically “trickle down” to the poor, and that if growth was not actually benefiting the poor, then the reason lay in its not being high enough. The 11th plan, by contrast, conceded that the “benefits of growth” did not automatically “trickle down”, but argued that growth...

Like stags fighting, the first days of each annual UN climate summit start with delegations circling each other politically, looking for weaknesses, gauging strengths. The summit that began this week in Durban, South Africa, has been no different - and though it might seem that little has been accomplished so far, a number of blocs have at least made their positions clearer than ever before. And that's vital if effective negotiations are...

In opening up the retail trade to foreign equity last week, the Union government demonstrated uncharacteristic courage and conviction. While this policy measure might help dispel doubts about its ability to take decisions, it has raised a political dust-storm more intense and widespread than it had probably bargained for. No doubt, taking a view on the issue of liberalising FDI norms for multi-brand retail had been on the government’s agenda for...

The United Progressive Alliance government appeared determined on Monday not to roll back its decision to permit foreign direct investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail sector, despite intense pressure from allies and the Opposition alike, not to mention the Congress' Uttar Pradesh unit which faces an uphill task in next year's Assembly polls. At best, sources said, the government might postpone a decision on its implementation by referring it to an...

My attention was drawn to “An Open Letter to the Chief Minister of West Bengal” which was signed by thirty members of the civil society of Kolkata and Delhi. What disturbed me was the tone and tenor of the language used in the letter in denouncing Ms Mamata Banerjee’s bold initiative in inviting the Maoists of Junglemahal for a dialogue after “ceasefire”. May I ask with all humility who among the...