-The Economic Times After kicking up a row by saying that there are more temples in India than toilets, Union Cabinet minister Jairam Ramesh has now set March 2013 as the target date to ensure that all schools have proper working toilets for girls and boys. Ramesh even reached out to human resource development minister Kapil Sibal, requesting him for a dedicated operation and maintenance fund of roughly Rs 12,000 for every...

-The Times of India Everyone agrees that India needs to deliver social protection to the aam admi; the forthcoming Food Security Bill is one such attempt. Everyone also agrees that the government service delivery pipelines are riddled with leakages and largescale corruption. Direct cash transfers have been proposed as a way to remedy this defective system. However, as could be expected, the debate has become polarised, with one side believing that cash...

-The Times of India While allegations of irrigation-related illegalities continue to fly thick and fast, with Maharashtra at the epicenter, the status of irrigation projectsacross the country presents a dismal picture.  Stalled projects are not only symptoms of corruption, they are depriving farmers of life-saving water for crops, weakening food security and pushing them to the brink of pauperization. In all, 77 major and 86 medium irrigation projects are running delayed by anything...

-The Economic Times Nazia is 10 years old. But, according to a claim filed by Chhattisgarh-based Shaheed Hospital with the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY), she has delivered a baby after a caesarean operation. Mukul (name changed) is only 7. But Agarwal Hospital, Raipur, has made a claim for removing cataract from his eyes. A large number of similar implausible claims, being made by private hospitals enrolled to treat poor patients under...

-The Economic Times Buffeted by a series of big-ticket scams, the Government is readying to sponsor sleuths and vigilance officers to the world's first Master's degree in anti-corruption studies, being launched in Vienna this December. The department of personnel and training has written to all ministries, state governments, Central Bureau of Investigation and the Central Vigilance Commission, informing them that the government is willing to fund the candidates for International Anti-Corruption Academy's...