Nepal, July 21 -- Perhaps unhappy with the performance of 'full-bright, half-bright and quarter-bright' intelligentsia in soliciting support for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Nepal, its Resident Country Director took it upon himself to sell the controversial Compact as 'a data-driven model to increase Nepal's economic growth'.

The problem, however, isn't with the pivot per se. The prospect of a huge grant outlay is so alluring that every sensible professional wants to get onto the bandwagon. Foreign aid continues to fascinate the ruling clique in Kathmandu. Its levers in the media and intelligentsia are also large and strong. It's just that the load at the other end of the handspike is already bulky and getting heavier by...