The countrywide share of corporate retail in food distribution tripled in the past four years when retail food prices showed the greatest increase. THE dramatic increase in food inflation over the past two years has been associated with several surprises. One major surprise has been how the top economic policymakers in the country have responded to it. The initial response was one of apparent disbelief, followed very quickly by the...

The Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council has been snubbed once again by the government, this time by the tribal affairs ministry. The ministry rejected all recommendations made by the council to reform the implementation of the Forest Rights Act — the UPA's flagship programme and law to give land rights back to tribals and forest dwellers. The National Advisory Council had recommended strong measures for restoration of forest lands to...

Illegality in India today touches almost every economic activity. It is both systemic and systematic. The Indian ruling class faced its severest crisis of credibility in 2010. Its past caught up with it and skeletons and scams were spilling out of its closets. The scams have a symbiotic relationship with the black economy. The number of scams is growing and so is the size of the black economy, which has reached...

A courier company in Mumbai shows the way in providing employment for the hearing impaired. IN the milling crowds of Mumbai, they stand apart with their orange T-shirts printed with the name Mirakle Couriers. Every day, during the busy hours of the working week, one sees them on the sidewalks, in public transport and elsewhere with large black bags slung on their shoulders. It would not be enough to say...

Stir likely to be intensified if project gets green signal With the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests set to take a final decision on the proposed steel plant project of Posco-India Private Limited on Monday, Orissa villagers facing displacement have decided to intensify their agitation if the Ministry order went in favour of the company. That a majority of villagers in the three gram panchayats of Dhinkia, Gadakujang and Gobindpur in...