Although India is a labour-surplus economy – with an unlimited number of workers willing to work at a subsistence wage – a paradoxical feature of the labour market is the rising incidence of scarcity or shortages amid a situation of potential plenty. No doubt, this pertains to skilled labour. But when 15 per cent of Indian trucks are idle owing to a shortage of drivers or India Inc is worried...

-The Hindu Business Line   Inter-state inequalities have significantly narrowed in the last decade, but nutrition and sanitation are still big concerns, says the Human Development Report 2011. The findings of the report are significant as they come a day before the full National Development Council meeting, headed by the Prime Minister, on Saturday. The report, brought out by the Institute of Applied Manpower Research (IAMR) and the Planning Commission, measures the human...

Today is the ''International Day for the Eradication of Poverty'', so it an appropriate day to note how necessary it still is to emphasise this concern among Indian policy makers. Sadly, lack of official awareness is evident in all sorts of recent policy measures, for example in the cynicism of increasing oil prices that feed into all other prices with cascading effects, even when inflation has already imposed huge burdens on...

In the gathering gloom of slowing growth and political drift, comes some good news to brighten up the festival season. The latest Human Development Report, released today, shows that “inclusive growth” — the mantra of the entire political establishment — may not be just a mere slogan. Socially and economically weaker sections, like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Muslims, are finally catching up with the rest of the country on important...

-IANS   India's mammoth exercise to issue a unique identification (UID) number to each of its 1.2 billion population has attracted the attention of many nations, and diplomats got a glimpse of what changes in governance could be brought about from the project's pioneer Nandan Nilekani himself.  Nilekani told the 100 odd diplomats from several embassies based in the capital Wednesday that the UID Authority of India's effort was to provide an instrument...