Three ostensibly disparate recent events have left me pondering about a lurking common thread among them: the Egypt uprising, PM’s appointment of a Cabinet-rank advisor for skills development and the fifth anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). What could be common among unrest in the Arab world, a seemingly inconspicuous government appointment and a fifth anniversary of a social welfare programme? The answer is youth,...

Sixty-three persons, including promoters and CEOs of 10 telecom firms have come under its scanner in the 2G spectrum case, the CBI on Tuesday told the Supreme Court which expressed satisfaction over the ongoing probe. The central government, which is also party to the case, informed a bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly that it is in favour of setting up a special court to try...

The budget is a “mixed bag” for the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council, said members. It promises to bring in the National Food Security bill that the Congress chief hopes will signpost UPA-II’s continuing commitment to social and economic inclusion in the way that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act did UPA-I. But finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s restatement of the Centre’s position on indexing MNREGA wages to the consumer price...

“To ensure greater cost efficiency, better delivery” Seeking to address the issue of subsidies not reaching the targeted groups, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday proposed to provide a direct cash subsidy on fuel and fertilizers to the poor from March, 2012. “To ensure greater cost efficiency and better delivery of kerosene and fertilizers, the government will move toward direct transfer of cash subsidy for people below poverty line (BPL) in a...

The Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that Madhya Pradesh has maximum number of pro-poor schemes. The state is spending fifty percent of its budget for poverty alleviation. A provision of Rs. 15 crore has been made for organizing Antyodaya Melas so that the poor families get benefits at one place. He was addressing a function at Jamboori ground here today. The Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was weighed...