What Foreign Media is saying about PM Narendra Modi and his meeting with Nawaz Sharif

New Delhi, May 27: Narendra Modi has become the talk of the town with his elevation as the 15th Prime Minister of India.
The entire world has been keeping eyes on Modi's movements as he has been meeting dignitaries from several neighbouring countries including Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapakse and many others on Tuesday, May 27.
What Foreign Media is saying about Modi and meeting with foreign dignitaries:
The Nation (Pakistan): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today shared some emotional moments of his conversation with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on popular micro-blogging website.
Aljazeera (Qatar): New Indian prime minister and his Pakistani counterpart express willingness to begin new era of bilateral relations.
The Tribune (Pakistan): From CM to PM: A stunning rise to power -- Modi ruled Gujarat for 13 years and he tried to prove that he was more business than politics. Whether he sticks to this policy while holding the highest political office in India remains to be seen.
The Dawn (Pakistan): With hope and fear from Kashmir -- After Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif finally accepted Narendra Modi's invitation to attend the latter's oath-taking ceremony as the 15th Prime Minister of India, ordinary people, commentators, and politicians in Kashmir began deliberating upon the various pros and cons of the situation, and discussing the future of possible talks on all contentious issues, including Kashmir.
The News (Pakistan): Newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif shared some "very emotional things" with him in the evening he took oath.
Washington Post (USA): India's new PM meets leader of rival Pakistan -- New Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the leaders of rival Pakistan and other neighboring nations on Tuesday, a day after being sworn in.
Washington Post (USA): Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi sworn in as India's prime minister -- With the soaring cream-and-red sandstone dome of the president's house as a backdrop, Modi, 63, took the stage dressed in one of his trademark high-collared vests and read the oath of office in a commanding voice. There were no speeches, and his newly appointed cabinet took the oath with him, as is customary.
The New York Times (USA): Signs of Diplomacy as Indian Leader Is Sworn In -- Outside the sandstone palace that was built for the viceroy of British-ruled India, before a crowd that included corporate titans, Bollywood heartthrobs and saffron-robed Hindu holy men, Narendra Modi, the son of a provincial tea-seller, was sworn in on Monday as India's prime minister.
Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka): Modi-MR talk -- The two leaders had an in-depth discussion of issues of mutual concern, including the ongoing reconciliation process in Sri Lanka, matters pertaining to fishermen of both countries, strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing cooperation among SAARC members. Presidential media. Prathom Alo (Bangladesh): Narendra Modi sets an example -- It was a historic moment when all SAARC leaders were present at the Raisina Hills when Modi sworn in as the 15th Prime Minister of India.

Black money: Contact other agencies, get all information, CBI teams told

NEW DELHI: A day after the Narendra Modi government announced formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe 'black money', CBI Director Ranjit Sinha, who is also part of the SIT, has reportedly asked his teams to collect all the information regarding black money in association with other agencies and prepare a report. It was CBI, which had first given an official figure to the black money. Former CBI director A P Singh had claimed in February 2012 that "Indians are the largest depositors in banks abroad with an estimated 500 billion US dollars (nearly Rs 24.5 lakh crore) of illegal money stashed in tax havens such as Mauritius, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, British Virgin Islands etc". A formal order regarding the formation of SIT is awaited. CBI sources say Sinha may involve some select officers from the Economic Offences Wing, BS&FC and other specialised units to assist other agencies including Reserve Bank of India, IB, RAW, ED and CBDT. According to sources, the members of SIT would hold a meeting after the formal order is issued. A P Singh had claimed that CBI had reached the figure of black money (Rs 24.5 lakh crore) through different independent sources. Since all the agencies have to work on this together, the information would be shared and SIT chief Justice MB Shah, a former SC Judge, would be briefed accordingly. As the nodal agency of Interpol in India, CBI's role in the probe will be crucial. SIT is expected to use the judicial route to seek information from tax havens while the new government is likely to expedite the process at bureaucratic levels. Sources say the countries might also be asked at highest levels by MEA to assist in the probe.
TNN | 29 May, 2014

CBI gives clean chit to Amit Shah in Ishrat ( Terrorist Encounter ) case

"The encounter was part of the state government’s “zero tolerance” towards terrorism" The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Wednesday gave a clean chit to Narendra Modi’s close aide and Gujarat’s former home minister Amit Shah in the alleged 2004 fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan and three others, citing insufficient evidence. Asking for dismissal of an application against arraigning Shah as an accused in the case, the top investigating agency, in its reply filed before a special CBI court, also gave clean chit to former director general of police K R Kaushik. The three-page reply filed by the CBI followed an application moved by Gopinath Pillai, whose son Pranesh alias Javed Sheikh, was among the four killed in the alleged fake encounter. Pillai had sought to arraign Shah and Kaushik under the code of criminal procedure (CrPC) 319. The CBI, however, has not only denied having sufficient evidence against Shah, but also urged the court to dismiss the application, hinting that there will not be any further probe in the case. “It is submitted that Amit Shah, then home minister in the government of Gujarat, was not named in the FIR. CBI has not named him in the chargesheet as an accused,” CBI’s inspector Vishwas Kumar Meena said in the reply. CBI has also mentioned accused IPS officer D G Vanzara’s resignation letter dated September 1, 2013, which could not be termed as evidence. Vanzara’s letter was seen as evidence solely on the ground that he mentioned that the encounter was part of the state government’s “zero tolerance” towards terrorism. “The resignation letter contains general allegations and does not provide any concrete information about the role of Amit Shah in this offence. After receiving the letter, CBI examined Vanzara in jail. However, Vanzara has neither disclosed any further details during his examination nor in writing. There is no sufficient evidence against Shah. Hence, CBI has not chargesheeted him,” CBI stated in its reply. “In view of the above facts and circumstances, it is submitted that the application is liable to be dismissed,” CBI requested the court. The probe agency has filed two chargesheets against 11 accused in the case. The second or supplementary chargesheet has been pending before a CBI special court since February 6. CBI has not yet requested the court to proceed for committal of the case. Pillai had sought arraignment of Shah on the ground that the latter’s phone call detail records (CDR) during the encounter as well as his name appeared in the statements of some witnesses. It was claimed that Shah knew about the encounter operation. The CBI chargesheet annexed statements by police officers, which referred to a person as “kaali daadhi” who knew about the encounter operation. This term was suspected to be a code for Shah. Giving clean chit to Kaushik, CBI stated, “During further investigation and evidence collected so far, it appears that K R Kaushik was not involved in the conspiracy for killing the deceased persons. Hence,Hence, CBI has not chargesheeted him as he is cited as prosecution witness No. 183 in the supplementary chargesheet.” Kaushik had been named in the FIR lodged by CBI before it started the probe. He was Ahmedabad police commissioner when Ishrat, Sheikh, Zeeshan Johar and Amjadali Rana were killed by a team of Gujarat police. Others chargesheeted by CBI in the case include suspended ADGP P P Pandey, D G Vanzara, DSP G L Singhal, Tarun Barot. Four IB officials, including retired special director Rajinder Kumar, were also chargesheeted by the agency in the case.
News Credits,The Indian Express

PM gets ready for NDA win on 16 May

Orders have informally been given in the Prime Minister's Office to ensure that all pending matters get cleared "before 16 May", as on that day, they should "be prepared for a change in government", according to a senior official. He added that "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wishes to leave with dignity, and to preside over a smooth transition" to what is expected to be a Narendra Modi-led government by the end of the month. Both psephologists as well as politicians are baffled at the speed and strength of the "Modi wave" that is powering the BJP to victory in the 2014 elections. "We are lucky that the Election Commission opted for an unprecedented nine stages for the elections, as this length of time has helped to dilute the potency of the Modi wave, especially in Bihar and in parts of Uttar Pradesh" where there will be late polling. "Had the polls been held within a two-week interval, the BJP would have gained an extra 20 seats, so we should thank the EC for their decision," a very senior Congress strategist revealed. He further claimed that "by the beginning of February, it was clear that we (the Congress) would do very badly, so from then onwards the target has been to reduce the BJP's tally and (thereby) keep Modi out," he added. He gave "full marks to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi for the way in which both have tracked the progress of the polls and enthused party workers demoralised by the bad reputation of the Manmohan Singh government". Although for the record Congress insiders praise the outgoing Prime Minister, in private they say that he "refused to listen to many suggestions made by Soniaji and Rahulji" and that "he was unable to carry out most of the improvements asked of him by the leadership". Asked why he was not, therefore, replaced, the senior leader claimed that "there was no unanimity on his replacement, as Rahul was not willing to take up the job". He claimed that "the Congress president would have liked Sushilkumar Shinde as PM, but Rahul favoured P. Chidambaram for the job. Also, the family did not want to offend Pranab Mukherjee, as there were indications that he would quit the government if passed over for promotion. By the time PranabDa became President of India, it was too close to the polls for a change in the leadership of the government, so it was decided by the family to continue with Manmohan Singh till the election cycle ended." The insider said that "Rahul and his team initially placed too much emphasis on standard classifications of caste and community, not realising that Narendra Modi had cut through such divisions with his talk of development." Hence, "it was only very late in the game that caste and community factors were made to compete with the message of development. However, we could not beat Modi at his own game". The party leader said that "we ought to have ensured that sentiment prevailed over cold fact, as in the sentimentality department the Nehru family is tops". According to him, "Priyanka should have campaigned outside UP, especially in the west and south, where she could have made a big difference." However, he claimed that "both Soniaji and Rahulji were reluctant to force Priyanka to undergo the strains of campaigning across the country, although she herself was ready". However, "in protecting her, they may have handed over a majority to the NDA", he ruefully ended. Calculations made within the relevant echelons of government indicate that the BJP and its allies will pick up more than a 150 seats in the north of India, while in the west, its tally will cross 60, with around 30 seats coming from the south and 20 in the east. If these calculations prove to be accurate, the BJP and its allies will be within striking distance of a majority on their own. However, should more numbers be required, about a dozen seats are expected to go to independents, including in the Northeast, while Jagan Reddy's YSR Congress is expected to win 16 seats in Seemandhra and the TRS seven seats in Telangana. "Had the BJP done separate deals with Jagan in Seemandhra and with TRS in Telangana, the two combinations would have had almost a clean sweep across both regions," a senior official claimed, adding that "the TDP has brought down rather than boosted the BJP's tally". In the same way, he said that "calculations reveal that B.S. Yeddyurappa has helped the BJP in only two seats in Karnataka but has cost the party seven other seats". Also, "the BJP could have got nine seats in Tamil Nadu (rather than the three now forecast) had it avoided angering specific communities by tying up with the MDMK and the PMK". Another official argued that "clearly the Delhi headquarters of the BJP does not understand the dynamics of the South at all, with both Leaders of the Opposition as well as the party president coming from within the same narrow geographical radius". Given that the in-house experts within the government in the tracking of election results are giving the NDA either a majority on its own or close to the 272 figure, it is perhaps no surprise that across ministries, files are getting cleared and sanitised, so as to ensure that those who have signed on them remain undisturbed by future inquiries. Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation under Ranjit Sinha has been giving clean chit after clean chit to a roster of cases, in a spurt of activity unusual in its speed and timing.
News Credits The sunday-guardian

Congress commits fraud on Muslims

With every passing day, as it prepares to depart from office, the Congress-led UPA government is becoming increasingly unabashed and brazen. While incriminating papers are being confined to shredders and incinerators, and favourite bureaucrats are being given comfortable assignments in foreign lands, the ruling government is investing all its energies in strategising for its safety and security, post 16 May. Not entirely unexpected, even the Prime Minister's Office fell victim to the proverbial office fire, as reported in the papers. Fire safety standards in the PMO, the nerve centre of our government, must have turned extremely lax. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to delve further into the nature of the files that have been declared dead forever through the fire ruse. The Congress Party is silently preparing contingencies and exit strategies to secure protection from a terrifying future, when in all probability, government will pass on to an incorruptible, decisive leader, with whom they cannot make quid pro quo deals. They are trying their best to label the decisive leader as divisive or a polariser through constant repetition by themselves and hired voices, but they have learnt by now, that all their shrill propaganda to create a climate of fear psychosis among the Muslims has not yielded results. In fact, the Congress party's excessive overdrive has started rebounding upon itself. The people of India have been given an opportunity to witness directly just how scurrilous, divisive and polarising the Congress has been, particularly, in its last ditch, maladroit attempt to change the voter's mind somehow. Many of their other ongoing efforts have also failed. Their desperate hurry to appoint a Lokpal of their choice, a protector for their future, has turned to naught. The selection process was judicially so deplorable, that both judicial members of the Search Committee, Justice K.T. Thomas and Fali Nariman, refused to have anything to do with it and resigned. Finally, it took a PIL and the Supreme Court to prevent this lame duck government from appointing a Lokpal of their choice, whom they want so badly as a security for their future. This issue is of utmost priority for them, and they still don't seem to have given up. The Congress party leaves behind a trail of gigantic scams, which closely touch the Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi, her family and several other UPA stalwarts. Perhaps they hadn't expected such early exposure. Perhaps they did not realise that the time-space compression of advanced technology and 24X7 television, hasten the detection of scams by the public and investigative reporting. Perhaps they did not anticipate the momentum of public scrutiny of their corruption during the last three years, something that is making it impossible for them to bury their scams before they leave. Their loose ends continue to dangle dangerously, waiting for the next government to pick up. And a Lokpal of their choice still eludes them. There are several theories circulating as to why the lame duck government is trying hard to appoint the next Army chief in such haste. The Ministry of Defence had become a UPA den and it is imperative for the present dispensation to ensure a protective continuity in matters that affect them most, the fate of Agusta Westland and the nebulous transactions involving "the family" and "AP", and most importantly, how to make the government lose its case in arbitration, so that Finmeccanica's fortunes do not suffer. These shadowy, murky matters of kickbacks and intrigue remain invisible to the aam admi, whose tax money finances the corruption of those who preside over the government, even while they keep screaming shrilly, to distract the aam aadmi, that they alone are the Lord's anointed ones to give India inclusive and secular advancement. In their terminal political desperation and bankruptcy, they have turned as expected to communal handouts for Muslims and backward classes, whom they continue to view as election chattels. Having failed for decades in fulfilling promises to them for raising their standards of living and quality of life, the last few ploys that they command as masters of the government are those of reservation in government jobs. I have something significant to say about this issue of reservations that I hope these two segments of our country will reflect upon. Our Constitution, the foundation of our laws and government, is one of the most secular in the world. While it believes that governmental employment opportunity must be merit based, it never lost sight of the historical reality of our caste-ridden society. For centuries the lower castes had suffered social oppression and humiliation from the upper castes, denial of education, and corresponding opportunity for social, educational and economic inclusion. The long term consequences of social exclusion are equally destructive. They result in stunting and dwarfing mental faculties, erosion of self esteem, a permanent feeling of inferiority, death of aspiration and higher social mobility, and social fatalism. Clearly, historical caste-based exclusion and social decapitation made them incapable of being part of fair and equal competition with the higher castes. Just as a man with tied legs cannot compete fairly in a running race, people with their mental faculties debilitated through deliberate social oppression perpetuated over centuries cannot be expected to participate equally in competitive examinations. The Constitution provided special facilities for them. Reservations, as recommended by Dr Ambedkar were meant to be a recompense from the democratic government of India for the historic and social wrongs committed by our society to certain segments for denying them opportunities and acquiring equal rights as full blooded citizens at par with higher castes. This was the fundamental principle on which reservation quotas for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes was incorporated in our Constitution. Let me remind the OBCs, that neither Mulayam nor Mayawati are their true friends. Both, with mountains of corruption files hanging over their heads, are willing to barter anything away for a clean chit. Let the OBCs also recall that the Congress party under Indira Gandhi ignored the Mandal Commission report, and Rajiv Gandhi categorically opposed it. V.P. Singh made an attempt to implement it in 1990, but the issue was stayed by the Supreme Court. The Congress party fielded a battery of the best lawyers, including Nani Palkhivala, to oppose it. Vasanth Sathe, a non-practising lawyer, donned his robes and appeared in the Supreme Court, sending out the clear Congress message of opposition to the Mandal report. I was the only lawyer who defended the case, and I won it. This is one victory I am very proud of, and so much for Congress' great concern about the OBCs. Recently, the Congress party has again played its communal card by including a sub-manifesto that it would provide 4.5% Muslim quota, within the OBC quota. Commendable election tactics and a last minute quick-fix hoping to ensnare Muslim vote banks, wherever the Congress believes it can leverage their numbers to its advantage, and make them eternal captives. Is the Congress party trying to inform the Muslim community that they have for centuries suffered humiliation from Indian society, for their present state of lack of education, or economic advancement? Muslim rulers, who have ruled most parts of this country for five centuries, have imposed jazya on the local population, treating Hindus in general, exactly the way Hindu upper castes treated lower castes. It is only after the British takeover that they lost political power. Historically or socially, Indian society has in no manner humiliated them or done them any social wrong or deprived them of educational opportunity, capacity to advance, or have fair opportunity in competition in government jobs. What really has impeded Muslims of India from reaching their true potential, are their own clerics and their madrassa education that ghettoises them further, even visibly, in terms of separate attire and physical appearance. Neither the clerics nor the madrasas will empower the critical mass of underprivileged Muslims in India to access modern contemporary education, economic opportunity, and acquire greater heights in our socio-economic order that secular India aspires for each of its citizens. I ask my Muslim countrymen to do some introspection, and look at the lives of the Muslims in India who have prospered. They are the modern, cosmopolitan ones who have avoided the tragedy of a madrasa education. I am tempted to state a simple example. At Independence, the Bombay Bar was dominated by brilliant Muslim lawyers. Today, there are hardly any. Let the Muslims of the country realise that if they succumb to the bait of reservation (that is in any case constitutionally untenable), they would be affirming that the Congress party has done the same to them as what the upper classes historically did to the lower castes in India. Do not get carried away by this bait — ask instead for better educational institutions, access to skills and expertise, and proactively grab better opportunities for economic progress.
Shri.RAM JETHMALANI ,The sunday-guardian

Modi set to win Vadodara by landslide

The BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate appears likely to cruise to victory in home state.
Vadodara is all set to elect Narendra Modi, say voters and political experts across the Lok Sabha constituency. The constituency voted heavily on Wednesday, with a record 72% turnout, up from 49% in 2009. The previous record turnout of 69.14% came in 1977, in the first elections after the Emergency was imposed. "It is common knowledge that Vadodara — with its large Marathi and Gujarati population — has always been a BJP stronghold. This time too, the constituency is all set to elect Narendra Modi with a neat margin," said Priyamvadan Patel, a political analyst who has previously worked as the Gujarat state coordinator for the National Psephology Network. Patel points out that though Rajkot, Surat and Ahmedabad have raced ahead in development, leaving Vadodara behind, the city still elects only BJP candidates. BJP's sitting MP Balu Shukla vacated the sea for Modi. "This city has always been a BJP bastion. The only time a Congress candidate won here, it was by the only two-digit margin in Gujarat's history," said Patel, referring to the victory of Satyajit Gaekwad in 1996 by just 17 votes, the smallest ever victory margin in a Lok Sabha election. Dr Ravi Jadhav, a retired scientist, said, "Modi has a huge following because of the massive development he has managed to bring about across the state. I have travelled across India and can vouch for the fact that infrastructural development in Gujarat is better than in any other state." A Gujarati voter who did not want to be named said, "There is a huge pro-Modi wave here. I have voted for Modi because we are proud that our candidate will go on to become the Prime Minister of the country and extend our state's development to the rest of India." However, Arjun Modhvadia, the Congress party's spokesperson denies the presence of a Modi wave. "There has been a surge of turnout all over India, not only in Vadodara. The BJP's seat share dipped in Gujarat's 2012 Assembly elections, as did its vote share. I am confident that their vote share will decline this time as well, and we are hopeful of victory by a small margin," Modhvadia said. Political expert Priyamvadan Patel said the city administration's intensive campaign for voter awareness ensured heavy voting. He said the regional cultural organizations and civil society, business bodies and the District Collectorate took it upon themselves to reach out to voters. "A massive campaign was conducted to draw voters who are already committed out to vote. A government initiative was transformed into a people's movement," said Patel.
Article Credits,Kirti Pandey,The sunday-guardian

NDA managed resources better than UPA

TFP of a country is like the profit of a company. It measures efficiency with which a country manages its resources.
The ongoing Indian elections have been marked by an explosion of analyses comparing the performances of the UPA governments from 2004 onward with that of the NDA government during the period 1998-2004. A large part of this debate turns on the issue of how to judge the performance of a government. Different commentators highlight different indicators, making comparisons inherently subjective. The problem facing the voter is a bit like the problem facing an investor choosing between the stocks of different companies. The voter needs to invest in a party, while the investor needs to invest in a company. How does an investor decide? The first indicator of company health are profits as a share of revenues. An efficient company tries to raise the profit rate by increasing revenues and/or lowering costs through reduced input usage. Higher profit rates tend to indicate greater efficiency and future growth. Is there a counterpart for company profits for evaluating governance of a country? A measure that economists use to judge the economic efficiency of an organisation is Total Factor Productivity (TFP). TFP of any entity is the difference between what it produces and what it uses as inputs. For a country, output is Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while inputs are the capital used, employed labour, the skill level of the employed labour, etc. Thus, TFP of a country is like the profit of a company. It measures the efficiency with which a country manages its resources. This efficiency depends on myriad factors, including economic policies, institutions and governance. More efficient, better managed economies with strong institutions that protect individual and economic freedoms are able to produce more GDP with fewer inputs, i.e., through higher TFP. In principle, then the voter could use TFP as an indicator of government efficiency. Just as profits, rather than revenue growth is the key for stockholders, TFP growth, rather than GDP growth should be key for the voter. For the past three decades, the Center for the International Comparisons of Production, Income and Prices at the University of Pennsylvania has been compiling internationally comparable data for a number of countries. Its latest data release is the PWT 8.0. It provides data on income, output, input and prices for 167 countries covering the period 1950-2011. Two welcome additions in the latest release are data on the capital stock and TFP for a number of countries. The GDP and TFP growth numbers for India reported in PWT 8.0 make for interesting reading. First, they confirm the overall view of India having been a relatively low growth, inefficient economy till 1991 that saw a big increase in growth post-1991, accompanied by more efficient economic management ushered in by economic reforms and liberalisation. Between 1960 and 1991, the economy grew at an average annual rate of 4.3%. This growth rate rose to 6.8% between 1991 and 2011. Correspondingly, TFP growth in India, which averaged 0.65% a year between 1960 and 1991 almost tripled to 1.64% between 1991 and 2011. Put differently, while TFP growth only accounted for about 15% of annual GDP growth during 1960-1991, it accounted for 24% of the higher average GDP growth during 1991-2011. Clearly, the economy became a lot more efficient in managing its resources post-1991. What do the GDP and TFP growth figures suggest about the periods 1998-2004 and 2004-2011? Annual growth during 2004-2011 under the UPA regime was 8.1%, which was 2 percentage points higher than during the NDA government that preceded it. The difference between the two regimes though is the share of TFP growth in total GDP growth. Under the NDA regime during 1998-2004, this share was 21%. Under the UPA dispensation during 2004-2011 TFP's share of growth declined to 17.5%. Looking under the surface of these numbers provides even greater perspective on the efficiency of the two regimes. During the UPA-1 regime of 2004-2009, TFP's share of growth was 15.4%, which was exactly the contribution of TFP to growth during the low growth period of 1960-1991, a period riddled with economic inefficiencies. Moreover, the source of the current disaffection of many voters with the UPA-2 can be seen in the figures for 2011 (the last year of the sample in PWT 8.0). Growth declined sharply as did TFP. What is perhaps most disconcerting is that TFP's share of GDP growth went below 14% in 2011. This is a historic low in TFP's contribution to economic growth in India. One can only imagine how much worse the figures for the period 2011-2014 are going to be given the economic slowdown and policy paralysis that has epitomised this phase. Why might growth remain strong despite tepid TFP growth? The typical reason is a high investment rate which, in turn, indicates that investors perceive high returns in the economy. Low TFP growth however, indicates that some of this potential may have been squandered through management inefficiencies and resource misallocations. The growth and TFP numbers in India over the past few years suggest that the potential remains high but management and governance continues to be a major worry. Sometimes a single number is more informative than multiple indicators. The behaviour of TFP for judging the quality of governance may be an example of this even though voting decisions depend on much more than just economic efficiency.
Article Courtesy, Amartya Lahiri,The sunday-guardian