In The Media ⁽⁴⁰⁰⁾

Read full article Abstract: An examination of the key characteristics of those contesting elections and those winning them, a subject of our current research, reveals fascinating facts about our leaders. Potentially, they can also have important implications for policies. Following a Supreme Court ruling, the Election Commission has required since 2002 that all candidates contesting election to either House of Parliament or state legislature file an affidavit open for examination by the voters. The affidavit must furnish full information on the candidate's educational qualifications, assets, liabilities, past convictions or acquittals in criminal cases and any pending charges stemming from offences punishable with imprisonment for two or more years. The information so generated offers an unusual peek into the qualifications of those governing us.

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As China's experience shows, growth rate is not just a sideshow in the social development debate.Read full article In a recent op-ed in The Hindu , Amartya Sen has clarified his views regarding what importance we should assign to growth in the policy discourse . Coming as it does in response to a debate on the Cuts Forum to which I had actively contributed, Sen’s clarification justifies a rejoinder by me. The lively debate on the Cuts Forum had been triggered by a lecture Jagdish Bhagwati had delivered at a joint session of the Parliament on December 2, 2010 and subsequent remarks Sen made on India-China growth comparisons while speaking in New Delhi. Bhagwati , who actively contributed to the Cuts Forum debate, had emphasised in his Parliament lecture the centrality of growth to poverty alleviation firstly as a force that “pulls up” the poor into gainful employment and secondly as a source of revenue to expand anti-poverty programmes. In contrast, in his New Delhi talk, Sen had argued that the Indian fixation with surpassing China’s rate of economic growth was…

Read full article The multiple mega-corruption scandals have exposed yet again the gaping holes in our governance system. Any "fix" for this problem must include scaling back the role of the government in activities in which the private sector has the necessary competence. Among other things, this calls for bringing the privatization of public sector undertakings (PSUs) back on the policy agenda. Fiscal compulsions have yet again returned the government to minority equity sales in PSUs, but a genuine exit from production activity requires transferring the management into private hands.

The mega corruption scandals - Commonwealth Games, 2G spectrum, Adarsh society and foodgrain - have dominated the headlines in India in recent months.Read full article The mega corruption scandals - Commonwealth Games, 2G spectrum, Adarsh society and foodgrain - have dominated the headlines in India in recent months. The mood around the country, especially among intellectuals, has been one of despair. Many argue that these scandals represent the total breakdown of governance and will prove fatal to India's growth story and its ambition to become a global power. Are these fears justified? To be sure, the monetary magnitudes associated with corruption scandals have escalated with rising incomes, many more scandals than in the past have come to light recently and the central government appears largely paralysed. Yet, the reality on governance is more complex, requiring careful analysis before jumping to doomsday scenarios.