Even as concerns are emerging about generalised inflation gripping the economy, with reports of rising wage rates, food price inflation remains the citizen’s core concern. Macroeconomic authorities have been chasing a variety of targets – monetary, fiscal and supply-side constraints – to get a better grip on prices. It is often hoped that higher prices would translate into increased production since farmers would respond positively to price signals. What then...

The UPA-2 government had challenged the Comptroller and Auditor General's report that blew the lid off the 2G spectrum scam and its estimated loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, but the Supreme Court virtually endorsed the auditor's findings and said they tally with those of Central Bureau of Investigation. ( Read: CBI told to get special prosecutor for 2G case ) Presenting details of the CBI investigation to a bench comprising...

Amid technical and infrastructural constraints, Maharashtra has rolled out 1.2 million Aadhaars, but the beneficiaries have been able to make little use of these numbers Ashok Bhil, a 25-year-old graduate from Navalpur, 7 Km from Tembhli, is disappointed with the way the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is rolling out Aadhaar in Maharashtra. Last September, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government chose Tembhli, a small village in the predominantly tribal Nandurbar...

The Rural Ministry of Government of India has written a letter to State Government in which it has been directed that corruption and criminal cases pertaining to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) should be investigated seriously and satisfactory action should be taken against the guilty officers. The Rural Ministry added that if this were not done then Centre would hand over these cases to CBI and take action...

A 13-member fact-finding team that visited Chintalnar, Morapally, Timmapuram and Tadmetla villages of Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh has found that the police claim that they had an encounter with Maoists in the jungles of Dantewada during March second week as “a hoax and far from reality.” “We have been inside these areas for two days, only to see that there was no ‘encounter' with Maoists as claimed by the police, which...