Managing the Mass Media
Aug 31st 2010, Jayati Ghosh
Some recent Indian experiences have led to the formation of a consensus that the mass media have become sensationalist and scandal-obsessed, often irresponsible and generally insensitive. The problem is getting so much worse that there is a need to think of new and creative ways to make sure that our media is actually accountable to the general public, including those without any political voice to speak of.
Indian IT: Privileged, protected and pampered
Aug 31st 2010, C.P. Chandrasekhar
One possible reason for the Indian IT industry's protest against the US move to increase visa costs for Indian companies could be that the industry has received privileged treatment at home for more than a decade. But given these special privileges one question that has constantly been posed is, are there adequate reasons to justify their provision?
 
Dr. K.N. Raj
Aug 9th 2010, Prabhat Patnaik
In a tribute to Dr. K.N. Raj the author remembers him as an iconic figure, a giant of a person both in terms of intellect and humanity. He notes that a shift in Dr. Raj's overall trend of thought from an emphasis on constraints on the supply side to the problem of demand is one of his most outstanding, but little-known, contributions.
Fiscal Policy and Global Growth
Jul 27th 2010, C.P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh
Across the world governments are debating whether it is time to exit from their fiscal response to the global crisis and return to austerity and fiscal consolidation. This may be premature, since the question whether there was indeed such a generalized and adequate fiscal response that triggered a recovery remains unanswered.
National FDI Concepts: Implications for investment negotiations
Jun 4th 2010, Smitha Francis

Free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties make privileges for and treatment of foreign direct investors legally binding. Thus, apart from the concerns of being able to capture the ''real'' financial and economic contribution of foreign direct investment inflows, FDI definitions are also about protecting the ''rights'' of the so-defined investors in the host country. Keeping this in mind, the article analyses India's current FDI policy and warns that if we define FDI within our national regulatory framework too broadly to allow instruments and flexibility that were earlier resisted, we would have already lost most of the leverage in investment negotiations at the regional and multilateral levels.

Report on the State of Food Insecurity in Rural India
Nov 23rd 2009

This Report is an update of the Rural Food Insecurity Atlas of 2001 released by the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and the World Food Programme (WFP). Since then, numerous new programmes have been initiated by the central and state governments for achieving food security in the country. Giving a broad indicative picture of the level of food insecurity in different states and the operation of the nutrition safety net programmes, the Report concludes that the State has to play a crucial role in enhancing foodgrain output, ensuring the widest access to food through expansion of livelihood opportunities and promoting biological utilisation through appropriate investments in public health measures.

Shrinking Cereals, Growing Food Parks
May 4th 2010, Rahul Goswami
Although controlling food inflation and ensuring food security to the population are two major concerns of the government at present, data and reports of various studies show very little improvement on both fronts. On the contrary, the increasing corporatisation of food production, procurement, movement and distribution is contributing to household food insecurity, particularly amongst the rural and urban poor.
The Public and the Private
Sep 4th 2009, Prabhat Patnaik
The fact that the agrarian crisis or the current raging inflation in India has not evoked major spontaneous struggles is linked to the country's transition from a dirigiste to a neo-liberal economic regime. As Indian capital becomes increasingly integrated with global financial capital, and the State increasingly represents the exclusive interests of the bourgeoisie, the interests of the people are sacrificed for the sake of the ''nation's'' emergence as an economic power. Further, the capacity for resistance in our society is also closely linked to the balance between the public and private sectors, which too undergoes a fundamental shift under neo-liberalism.
Conference on 'Global Issues and Local Challenges to Development'
23-24 April 2010
Feb 24th 2010
(Deadline for submitting the abstract of the paper is 28 February 2010)
Economists Launch Blog on ''Triple Crisis'' in Finance, Development, and Environment
Feb 10th 2010
Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya
 
What were the Main Drawbacks of the Nehruvian Strategy of Development?
Public Finance Statistics
Index Number of India's Exports & Imports
All India Index Numbers of Area, Production and Yield of Principal Crops (Base: Triennium ending 1981-82)
National Accounts Statistics (Base: 1993-94 )
National Accounts Statistics (Base: 1980-81)
National Accounts Statistics: Disaggregated Statements
State Domestic Product (Base: 1980-81)
 

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