At the edge of Killai, a village on India’s southeast coast, there is a collection of 163 concrete houses, single-story blocks set in neat rows and surrounded by open fields. This is the neighborhood of M.G.R. Nagar, named after M.G. Ramachandran, a much-beloved actor and former chief minister in the state of Tamil Nadu. M.G.R. Nagar was built by aid agencies after the 2004 tsunami. It is home to around 300...

The Indian economy should recover from the recession caused by the global meltdown. India’s exposure to the world economy is quite limited. It is mainly through the exports market and partly through foreign investment flows either as equity or debt capital that financed private investment. The extent of the dependence, however, is quite low. The recession in the exports market affects only few sectors, such as textile and labour-intensive manufactures...

Five years after the massive Indian Ocean tsunami, which left a devastating trail of death and destruction, millions of people have benefited from the influx of aid by rebuilding stronger infrastructure, social services and disaster warning systems than existed before the catastrophe, according to the United Nations agencies at the core of the recovery effort. The largest emergency relief response in history was prompted by the earthquake off the coast...

The good news is that Bihar has done it! Bihar’s first successful social audit took place in Jamua Panchayat of Araria district despite violence and threats. Two thousand villagers participated in the exercise and fearlessly deposed in front of a panel of officials and civil society representatives. The social audit exposed widespread corruption, fake muster rolls and fake vouchers in the panchayat records. (see details and contact numbers below) Following the...

The following piece was written for the UNIDO’s General Conference that took place in Vienna this month but could not be carried by any of the international papers because of a slight delay, although some feel its contents may not be ideologically palatable to them. Hence it is being carried here for the benefit of our readers. —Editor A highly positive sum game awaits the community of nations if an internationally...