-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Gujarat government has turned down an RTI query seeking details of the wealth of the chief minister and the council of ministers claiming it is not in the "larger public interest". The move is in sharp contrast to that of the Union government which has made facts related to Assets and liabilities of its council of ministers public since 2011 and Supreme Court judges who...

As the country celebrates 68th anniversary of her independence this year, recent data from the Census 2011 reveals that the population of homeless declined by 8.8% between 2001 and 2011 to reach 17.7 lakhs. This means that 4.5 lakh households (of average household size 3.9) still do not have any shelter to sleep safely. Although the percentage share of homeless in total population is miniscule (i.e. 0.15%), in absolute numbers...

-The Hindu Business Line Whether it is promoting a lease market in land or the use of tractors, credit should be tailored to the needs of marginal players The Finance Minister has announced several measures to make farming competitive and rev up growth in agriculture. While this is welcome, the sector as a whole needs an overhaul to make best use of these measures. To address the needs of landless farmers who are...

-The Hindu In 2009-10, 33% of PDS off-take of kerosene diverted for non-household use: report The findings of a confidential report, commissioned by the government and accessed exclusively by The Hindu, have revealed that allocated expenditures of social spending programmes are not reaching intended users and confirm leakages due to corruption. The capitation fees collected by private colleges, on management quota seats in professional courses, last year was around Rs 5,953 crore, the...

-The Deccan Herald The poverty line continues to be a conundrum. The fixing of the poverty line at Rs 47 for urban areas and Rs. 32 in rural areas per capita per day by the latest Rangarajan committee report, based on a person or family's spending per day (called ‘consumption expenditure') has again drawn vociferous criticism. All these years, this all important line has not been fixed in a rational manner, rendering...