Economic & Political Weekly

Conspiracy theories abounded at the peak of the dal crisis, not all of which were entirely unfounded. Everyone knew pulses were being hoarded, but no one had a clue how this was affecting the entire trade and the market. Could hoarding alone lead to such a shortage that prices would skyrocket so much? Unless, of course, this was being done in a concerted manner. And if at all bigger games were at play, then how did the stage-managed scarcity play out? The income tax (I-T) department’s appraisal...

When dal prices kept rising through the early summer of 2015, those were initially seen as a natural fallout of adverse weather conditions. But once the monsoons subsided, the prices went through the roof, throwing life out of gear. That’s when dal prices hit the headlines in newspapers and dominated discussion on prime time news. The Union government swung into action—first by cracking down on hoarders and announcing that it would import more pulses, and then by increasing the minimum support...

The Supreme Court's judgment based on the Lodha Committee's recommendations for reforming the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have been described widely as being much-needed, landmark, and far-reaching. The court's wide-ranging order, it is hoped, will bring an end to BCCI's arrogance and the brazen manner in which the sporting monolith cared zilch for accountability, transparency and fairness. All three words were anathema to the over-aged mandarins running the apex cricket body...