In The News

India Graduates Millions, But Too Few Are Fit to Hire

Geeta Anand April 8, 2011
According to statistics, Indian strength is its youthful population and an increasing number are graduates. But corporations report that it’s challenging, sometimes impossible, to recruit qualified applicants for an expanding workforce. Analysts pin the blame on an outdated education system, which unlike the economy, did not enact reforms in the early 1990s. Schools endure corruption, prize rote...

Fighting Imported Corruption

Devesh Kapur, Arvind Subramanian April 5, 2011
Indians are furious and astounded about recent corruption cases, where large ill-gotten funds have vanished. In an essay for Business Standard, Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian blame the ease in cross-border transfer of funds. The pair contends that as money is concentrated in fewer hands, it’s secretly transferred to tax-free domains beyond national borders and then returned as valued foreign...

India Needs a Sputnik Moment

David J. Karl March 4, 2011
Competition is a great motivating force for individuals and nations. In the global battle to innovate, the preferred weapon of choice is education. Warning his nation that India and China produce more engineers and scientists, US President Barack Obama calls for a Sputnik moment, harkening back to the 1950s when the Soviet satellite launch spurred new investments in education and technology. But...

Pakistan and the Bomb

Bruce Riedel February 21, 2011
The international community's questions about Pakistani control over its growing nuclear arsenal rankles the nation. Military leaders maintain control over weapons, while democratically elected civilian leaders have nominal authority, explains Bruce Riedel, senior fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy in the Brookings Institution, and author of a new book, “Deadly Embrace:...

Raj to Riches

Henry Foy January 31, 2011
The Jaipur Literature Festival primarily showcases Indian authors. But some Indians have criticized the annual event for perpetuating a British colonial mindset and favoring the English language. Globally renowned Indian authors typically write in English and often no longer live in India. Festival organizers contend that they’re simply trying to help Indian literature, reach a wider audience....

We Have Your Number

Nandan Nilekani January 21, 2011
Trade, technology and other facets of globalization have delivered wealth to India. But distribution of benefits is uneven in the nation of more than 1.1 billion, on track to exceed China as the most populous. The World Bank estimates that more than 35 percent of Indians live below the poverty line, and despite rapid job growth, the informal nature of most work excludes large numbers of poor from...

A Tale of Two Ports

Christophe Jaffrelot January 7, 2011
A common strategy in geopolitical rivalries is to accrue alliances, strengthen positions and counter competitors. Of course, Asia is rich with historic rivalries: India and China, Pakistan and India, Iran and Pakistan, Iran and the US, the US and China. Two ports in the Arabian Sea, one in Iran and another Pakistan, demonstrate an emerging contest for power in the Arabian Sea, explains...