Policy Wise

Vivek has adequately responded to Abi’s post which argued that the standard of students being admitted in IIT is falling and blamed the proliferation of coaching centers for this malaise.
In his response to Vivek’s post, Abi points towards abysmal number of women in IITs’ and posits that this IS because JEE is biased against women. [...]

In an article in The Economic and Political Weekly, noted demographer Ashish Bose argues that India’s demographic dividend can easily turn into a demographic bomb. By 2026, of the total estimated population increase of 381 million, share of workers in the 15-59 age group would be 83%. Professor Bose points out that providing employment [...]

Via Marginal Revolution, a new US government report on climate change(pdf document) mentions how private insurers are responding to future climate changes.
Major private and federal insurers are both exposed to the effects of climate change over coming decades, but are responding differently. Many large private insurers are incorporating climate change into their annual risk management [...]

We have previously discussed the ban on trans fats on this blog. Since the New York ban, other cities have moved towards banning trans fats and even some corporations have voluntarily offered to remove trans fats from their food. But are the alternatives any healthier?
“Right now the public has to be very careful … [...]

Immigration has suddenly become a hot button topic in the U.S. political scenario and even Senators from northern and midwestern states vying for the Presidential position are trumpeting their views on strict immigration control. The Democrats have been largely silent or at least ambivalent about immigration control. While most of them believe that the issue [...]

Previously, we have argued that foreign aid is not the best way tackle poverty in the developing world. A story in the The New York Times illustrates wh

But the law in the United States requires that virtually all its donated food be grown in America and shipped at great expense across oceans, mostly [...]

Improving market access, not aid, will help the developing world

Western countries are constantly criticized for the low level of their aid to developing countries. According to this logic, the rich countries are obliged to help the developing world and it’s failing in its moral duty by not increasing direct financial aid.
There is [...]

In an article in the Wall Street Journal, David Wessel warns,
The issue, in this light, isn’t whether trade makes the world as a whole richer. It does. The issue is the distribution of those gains. If [...]

Admin note: A guest post by Chandni Malik.

According to a New Supreme Court Judgement, a unilateral decision by either the husband or wife not to have a child will amount to mental cruelty and constitute a ground for divorce.
A Bench comprising Justices B.N. Agrawal, P.P. Naolekar and Dalveer Bhandari said, a “unilateral decision of refusal [...]

In his column in The Times of India, Swaminathan S. Anklesariya Aiyar makes an interesting observation,
But another potent but under-appreciated reason is the rise of petroleum prices, and the consequent boom in biofuels. In many countries, ethanol made from maize and sugarcane is being mixed with petrol. Also, edible oils made from soyabeans, [...]