The newly announced country assistance strategy for India is the continuation of what the World Bank has been pushing in this country and elsewhere in the last 15 years or so years, with nothing to show for it, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.

It is nobody’s case that there is no crisis. But when remedies are prescribed, the diagnosis and the investigation have to be beyond dispute. P N Venugopal critiques a report from the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.

The list of new products that corporate India wants to attach the 'rural' tag to has grown quickly. What is at stake here is more than the survival of India's ambitious, if creative, consumer goods manufacturers, writes Rahul Goswami.

There is an urgent need for reliable and transparent consumer price indices that covers the large majority of Indian families, from the poorest upwards. Kannan Kasturi reports.

A conference on September 14-16 this year at New Delhi will bring together political decision makers, representatives from entrepreneurial associations and corporate partners, and civil society to discuss growth in Asia. It is backed by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Planning Commission of India.

Apart from its high literacy rate, richer natural resources, and green public consciousness, the Kerala Government's decision to go for a green budget this year makes this tiny southernmost state a model to look up to. Darryl D'Monte has more.

States are demanding a higher share of tax revenue from the Centre, citing the need for development funds as well as flexibility in spending money according to local priorities. Sunil Jain reports.

There is a great shortage of people with employable skills. But vocational training is neither popular nor seen to be offering good job options. The challenge is to overcome this perception, writes Megha Aggarwal.

The 260-km Sharda Sahayak canal took 32 years to complete, and cost almost 20 times the original estimate. It irrigates only half the area it was supposed to, and has created untold suffering along its path. Puja Awasthi reports.

In the old days, government was responsible for controlling inflation. Now if you feel the pinch of inflation, you have to fend for yourself, and especially because everyone is so busy looking after you, writes Pratap B Mehta.

To check corruption under the MGNREGA, the Centre is routing funds through banks and POs. But this has resulted in delayed payment and loss of faith in the system among people. Pradeep Baisakh argues the case for the earlier cash payment system.

Many micro-credit loans do no more than allow a family to juggle its finances for a month-to-month existance. As investors embrace this 'market', MFIs are increasingly under scrutiny. Jaideep Hardikar reports.

In theory various rules govern the use of AIBP funds to execute projects. In practice, as the CAG reminds us, money is liberally diverted, and the States and the Centre both look away. Himanshu Upadhyaya reports.

With its recent move to let banks determine their own rates of interest paid to savings account holders, the Reserve Bank of India opens up new turf in the battle between banks for consumers.

Art blends with life through the tradition of woodcraft in Etikoppaka, but the need to sustain livelihoods is ever-present. Neeta Deshpande reports.

It is tempting to take a rosy-eyed view of the future of successful entrepreneurship at the BOP. But what is the picture really? Richa Govil takes you through some recent stories and the lessons they may hold.

The principal contribution of the Malkha initiative is in its idea of rooting cotton handloom production in the rural economy, much against the trend in urban discourses. Neeta Deshpande reports.

In his latest book, The Wisdom of Ants: A Short History of Economics, with numerous revealing historical arguments and anecdotes, Shankar Jaganathan traces how economics emerged from being a relatively obscure field to a structured discipline that may be used to explain the basis for every aspect of human life and society, writes Satarupa Bhattacharya.

Given our Constitutional mandate to "endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities," Shankar Jaganathan explains why reintroduction of the Inheritance Tax may be a step worthy of serious consideration.

It is time for the Union Budget 2013. Shankar Jaganathan argues why, in an economy such as India, despite the general public vote against taxes, raising the tax-to-GDP ratio is more critical than restraint in fiscal spending.

The relationship between professionals such as doctors, lawyers and teachers and the society they serve is increasingly and radically changing. The reasons behind the same, however, may go deeper than the obvious mercenary tendencies of the former. Shankar Jaganathan ruminates.

Despite privatisation in the power sector, consumer interests are professed to be safeguarded through competitive processes and independent regulatory authorities, but a recent order in favour of Adani Power Ltd. dents such assertions. Shripad Dharmadhikary analyses the implications.

Lack of development and unmet aspirations in India's villages and small towns not only raise the pressures arising from rural-urban migration, but also trigger an overall sociological malaise that is so difficult to dispel. Puja Awasthi reports from Ballia in eastern Uttar Pradesh, a stark example.

The appointment of NR Narayana Murthy at the helm of affairs in IT bellwether Infosys may have raised the prospects of its economic revival, but has broader implications related to corporate governance. Shankar Jaganathan explores the likely impact.

The Kerala government's pet 'Seaplane' project, initiated with minimal homework and impact assessment, has run into stiff opposition from environmentalists and local communities. P N Venugopal reports on the developments.

In view of the usual thrust on packaged food distributed in the name of relief and rehabilitation in the aftermath of any disaster or human crisis, L S Aravinda warns against the tendency to sell out local food traditions to the industry.

Of the abundant quantities of jackfruit grown in India annually, an estimated 70 per cent rots away, due to lack of awareness and difficulties of usage. Now, a joint initiative by an academic institute and a farmers' group seeks to change that. Shrikrishna D reports.

The recent closure of a landmark music store in the heart of Calcutta is symptomatic of the larger malaise afflicting the music industry. Shoma A Chatterji reports from a gathering of local luminaries to protest the rising menace of piracy in music.

The recent clash between two eminent economists of our times, Amartya Sen and Jagadish Bhagwati, appears to be centred around the Food Security Bill. Shankar Jaganathan provides a historical context to show why their contradictions extend far beyond any isolated issue to a clash between two schools of the discipline itself.

The benefits of providing access to energy and lighting to increasing numbers of the populace are indisputable, but many of the current initiatives to provide cleaner energy rely on corporate partnerships. Darryl D'Monte examines its pros and cons vis-à-vis an alternative model.

With the paradigm of projecting profits as the sole end of business steadily on the wane, Darryl D'Monte reports on developments in the Indian financial sector that indicate a growing thrust on sustainability and social responsibility.

Winner of the 2013 Economics Nobel, Robert J Shiller adds the latest perspective to a long-standing, heated debate on whether Economics can be called a science at all, and if it merits the prestigious award. Shankar Jaganathan recounts the many points of view on the subject.

It is certainly not because of mere demand-supply mismatch. Kannan Kasturi deconstructs the supply chain dynamics and credit linkages in the vegetable markets to show how these, coupled with government impotence, have led to uncontrolled, spiralling inflation.

The agreement between the Kandla Port Trust in Gujarat and the Adani Port & Special Economic Zone Ltd appears set to be passed without the kind of environment impact assessment mandated for an eco-sensitive zone such as this. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The recent verdict of the Gujarat High Court regarding the operation of multipurpose industries on land leased out by the MPSEZ could have critical implications for environmental clearance of SEZs in general. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Non-performing assets in public sector banks have shot up by more than 400 per cent in the last five years, hitting Rs 164000 crore! Shripad Dharmadhikary summarises findings of a research report that unearths the real reasons underlying these bad loans.

Innovative use of information technology through mobile phones is enabling improved financial literacy and increased access to credit for economically disadvantaged women in rural and urban areas. Swapna Majumdar reports.

The huge number of voters among the youth could well emerge to be the real game-changers in the parliamentary elections of 2014. Tanvi Bhatikar looks at the manifestos of the three main parties to see what they have to lure young voters.

Responsible governance, economic security for the maximum numbers and ecological sustainability are the three key challenges facing the country today. Ashish Kothari deconstructs the Congress, BJP and AAP manifestos to see what these parties promise on these fronts.

The findings of a recent study by scholars at the University of Oxford point to the adverse outcomes and poor economic returns associated with large dam projects. Amruta Pradhan summarises the findings and shows how they have been consistently borne out by empirical observations in Maharashtra.

Narendra Modi’s attention to the woes and plight of farmers during election campaigning has raised a lot of hope for improvement among members of the beleaguered community, but can he deliver? Devinder Sharma presents an 11-point prescription for turning the agricultural sector around.

The recent ‘secret’ report from the IB accusing select NGOs of scuttling Indian development is not only an unjust indictment of these organisations, but also an insult to the intelligence and voice of the common man. Sakuntala Narasimhan elaborates.

Several recent studies bring out the abysmal deprivation from entitlements among India’s vast internal migrant population. Shambhu Ghatak throws light on the problems faced by migrants and explores if the UID can indeed live up to its promise of making mobility a smoother process.

As the country eagerly awaits the new government’s maiden budget, Shankar Jaganathan evokes the realities of the Indian economy to provide a reference framework within which to judge the Jaitley budget.

The excitement leading up to the budget was almost feverish, but it turned out to be a staid affair in the end. Here's a round-up of some of the key provisions of Arun Jaitley’s maiden budget, presented in Parliament on 10 July.

For over two decades now, agriculture has suffered overall neglect as successive governments, led by World-Bank prescribed growth models, have issued disproportionate doles to industry. While the present allocations do not spell much hope, Devinder Sharma suggests what the Modi government may still do to reverse the trend.

The erstwhile UPA government’s Food Security Act, now set to be implemented by the present government, could mean unendurable strain for the country’s public distribution framework. P V Rajeev spells out better alternatives to explore.

The redevelopment of port land in Mumbai, dominated by the grandiose proposals of Nitin Gadkari, now rests primarily on the wishes of the Mumbai Port Trust, while it ignores the real needs of the city at large. Darryl D’Monte exposes the contradictions.

The media frenzy over Narendra Modi’s first 100 days in office is complemented by the cheer in markets, but Devinder Sharma sounds a caveat against judging the performance of the government by the standards of markets alone.

Indian cities have neither the funds required to realise their envisaged progress, nor credible systems to ensure effective utilisation of what they have. Srikanth Viswanathan emphasises the need for accountability and more robust financial management by municipal corporations.