The 2011 census strengthens fears that Punjab may no more be a land of opportunities, recording the lowest population growth among major north Indian states, at 1.3% per annum. Despite this, Punjab has been able to arrest total fertility rate at 1.91, down from 2, as per the national family health survey 2007. Yet, it may also show that Punjab is not attracting migrants, indicating trouble for both farm and industry sectors....

Budget 2011-12 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. THREE decades ago, in the early years of the Special Component Plan (SCP) for Scheduled Castes – very recently renamed inappropriately as Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) – Indira Gandhi on her return as Prime Minister wrote two historical D.O. letters dated March 12, 1980, one to Central Ministers and the other to State Chief Ministers, regarding the SCP in the Central...

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented Budget 2011-12 in Parliament on Monday promising to stimulate growth and bring down inflation. Admitting that food inflation remains a matter of concern, Pranab said that the economy could have performed better. He said that the development needs to be more inclusive while announcing increased outlay on social sector schemes. "Total food inflation is down from 20.2 per cent last year to 9.3 per cent...

Even four years after the Sachar Committee Report revealed that Muslims were one of the most economically backward and socially disadvantaged communities, nothing much has been done to address the development deficits of this community. The Constitution of the republic of free India was crafted in troubled but idealistic times. The Indian people were still reeling from Partition bloodshed and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, in the dark shadows of politics...

Pranab Mukherjee today got an opportunity to escape the drudgery of financial jargon and immerse himself in phrases such as poor, women, Muslims, farmers, weavers and prices. At an annual pre-budget exercise at the Congress headquarters, most party leaders asked the finance minister to provide relief to “the common man”, bring down inflation to a single digit, reduce petrol prices, lower interest rates on agriculture, housing and education loans and offer...