-The Hindu Guguloth Shanthamma, from a small hamlet in Mangalavaripet, left her hard-hearted husband behind to start a new life; she now runs an eatery Warangal (Andhra Pradesh): When life takes a beating, many surrender. But not Guguloth Shanthamma who left behind her hard-hearted husband to start a new life that promises security and happiness. Hailing from a small hamlet in Mangalavaripet of Khanapur mandal, she rose up to become a successful entrepreneur...
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Cash transfers can work better than subsidies -Guy Standing
-The Hindu Providing people with a modest basic income instead of subsidies would save public revenue With oil prices falling, it was perhaps a good time to fade out fuel subsidies. All subsidies are inefficient and distortionary, and most are regressive. The same could be said of costly public works schemes as well. By contrast, the debate on direct benefit transfers has moved into a more sensible phase, with the posturing criticism of...
More »Half-full, half-empty -Subir Gokarn
-Business Standard India's mixed record on the Millennium Development Goals is a pointer to policy priorities In 2000, the United Nations held a Millennium Summit, at which the membership adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Spanning a range of development indicators - poverty, gender, health, education and the environment - the MDGs essentially established a set of targets for the global community to achieve by 2015. The framework sets eight broad...
More »Where the frontline is key to the bottomline -Lant Pritchett and Yamini Aiyar
-The Indian Express Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly promised India "maximum governance". But to get there, the high costs and ineffectiveness of frontline service providers need to be addressed. Take elementary school teachers, for instance. "Complete rest in comfortable conditions" is the description a rather candid elementary education cluster resource centre coordinator (CRCC) in Bihar gave his own job. And it's not just him, it is also how the CRCC describes...
More »All Family Planning Should Be Voluntary, Safe and Fully Informed -Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin
-IPS News Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin is the Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund UNITED NATIONS: The tragic deaths and injuries of women following sterilisation in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh have sparked global media coverage and public concern and outrage. Now we must ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again. The women underwent surgery went with the best intentions - hoping they were doing the right thing for themselves and...
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