Times of India ⁽⁹²⁾

Read full article "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," so goes an old saying. unfortunately, we are travelling on that road, oblivious to where it leads. We have put in place vast number of policies with noble intentions, that produce exactly the opposite results. The latest example of this is the Right to Fair Compensation and Tranparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The primary objective of the Act is to protect farmers from predation by the government and businesses in the course of land acquisition. But it pushes the protections against acquisitions so far that anyone wishing to acquire land will first look for land on Mars.

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Read full article Abstract: The ongoing 'Bhagwati versus Sen' debate has generated more heat than light, necessitating correction. As an equal co-author of India's Tryst with Destiny, which defines the Bhagwati position, my stake in the debate is second to none. Two extreme characterisations of the positions of the two sides have emerged. The first has it that the differences between them are minimal with each side expressing the same ideas in a different language. The second depicts Bhagwati as advocating solely growth and Sen solely social spending. Both characterisations are plain wrong.

Read full article Abstract: For some time now, a debate has raged on both the economic performance of Gujarat and its chief minister Narendra Modi. Critics of Gujarat say that the state hardly ranks at the top of any indicator and that the hype over it is the result of effective public relations by Modi. Modi critics say that he is hardly the only successful chief minister in the country: look at what Nitish Kumar has accomplished in Bihar, Prithviraj Chavan in Maharashtra and Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Haryana.

Read full article Abstract: So much has already been written on the food security Bill that there would seem to be no justification for another column on it. Yet, a recent look at some consumption data has convinced me otherwise. How the food security Bill impacts people's lives ultimately depends on the effect it will have on the consumption basket of the beneficiaries. If you believe in serious analysis over flag waving, assessing this effect turns out to require careful detective work.