Days after the biggest Maoist attack, in which 76 security personnel were killed in Dantewada, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asserted that firm action would be taken against those challenging the authority of the state, but, in a careful moderation, added that one could not overlook the fact that Left-wing extremism flourished in underdeveloped areas. Singh's observations on the Naxal issue came at a gathering of the country's top bureaucrats on...

India's annual food and fuel inflation quickened in the week to April 10, putting upside pressure on the headline inflation and central bank to take action before its next policy review in July. The food price index rose 17.65 percent in the 12 months to April 10, marginally higher than an annual rise of 17.22 percent in the previous week. The fuel price index rose 12.45 percent in the 12 months to...

The impact of global recession will force an additional 64 million people across the world to live in extreme poverty by 2010, warns the World Bank. The economic crisis and recession have substantially increased the challenge of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets, according to the World Development Indicator (WDI) 2010 released by the World Bank on Tuesday. In contrast to the record Growth in 2000-07, the global economy grew only...

Funding commitments for water and sanitation declined as a share of overall development aid over the past decade despite strong evidence that making the two services available to communities could lower health-care costs, raise school attendance and improve productivity, according to a new United Nations report released today. “Neglecting sanitation and drinking water is a strike against progress,” said Maria Neira, UN World Health Organization’s (WHO) director of public health...

The government is spending billions of dollars on welfare schemes, and plans even more this year. But that is news to Poona, whose daughter may soon die from that stain on India's Growth story -- malnutrition. Poona, who married at 14 and breaks quarry stones for a living, shielded her daughter's sunken face from a harsh summer sun with her blue sari. She does not know Urmila's weight, but the...