Non-Congress states have performed better in the MGNREGA corruption index. The Supreme Court has “officially” declared corruption in the 2G case. All licences stand cancelled. The 2G scam has been the most talked about corruption case in India. Land grabs and mining are the other two areas of widespread corporate and public (bureaucrat and politician) corruption.

It is election time, perhaps even time for mid-term polls, after the assembly elections in February. Time, therefore, for a mid-term review of the UPA 2’s policies. Much has been written about the lack of leadership on the part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. So in interests of balance and “equal opportunity”, I would like to discuss the performance of the chairperson of the UPA, Sonia Gandhi. Actually, there is more than equality that dictates that her performance be judged — she has been, after all, the major leader of the Congress for almost 15 years.

In this winter of gloom, doom and corruption, the government can bask in some warmth from data collected by its statistical agencies. (Alas, these agencies have yet to hire some basic data-processing capabilities from minor computer firms, let alone agencies like Infosys.