-The United Nations   A new report by the United Nations labour agency warns of a youth jobs crisis in both developed and developing countries, with young people aged 15 to 24 finding it increasingly difficult to obtain decent employment and future prospects are dim. As it released its “Global Employment Trends for Youth: 2011 Update,” the International Labour Organization (ILO) notes that the recent global economic crisis led to a “substantial” increase...

Only in India does redistribution, which keeps the poor and marginalised out of the mainstream of the economy, pass for inclusive growth. In much of the rest of the world, inclusive growth would mean giving the poor and marginalised a direct stake in the economy with fast-growing industries and services absorbing them into gainful employment and, thus, making them true participants and partners in the growth process.  But in India, we...

Real wages in the hinterland have stagnated despite zooming economy While the economy has zoomed along at an average of 7.2% of GDP in the last decade, real wages in the hinterland have stagnated. You would imagine that after a decade of impressive economic growth averaging around 7.2 per cent, rural populations would be beneficiaries to this story. However, wage patterns considered over the last ten years show that real wages (wages...

What has changed since the economic reforms began? Many things. No waiting for years for a telephone connection, now cell phones with everyone. From three makes of cars with wind-down windows to dozens of makes, all air-conditioned. From one domestic airline, government owned and for the rich, to many private carriers for the middle class too. What has also changed is the knocking on the window. There are many more rich people...

The basic problem with the Approach Paper, as with its predecessor, is that its theoretical paradigm is wrong. WHAT used to be said of the Bourbon kings of France applies equally to the Indian Planning Commission: “They learn nothing and they forget nothing.” The Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five-Year Plan gives one a sense of déjà vu. It is hardly any different from the Approach Paper to the previous Plan...