Bihar will roll out unique identification numbers for "aam aadmi" -- beneficiaries of social sector schemes -- within 35-36 months. The move will help in curbing pilferage and corruption. The decision was taken at a meeting of Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. The Commission has finalised Rs 24,000 crore plan size for the state for next fiscal. Kumar cited that the plan size was...

THE WORLD BANK IN INDIA - Undermining Sovereignty, Distorting Development: Edited by Michele Kelley, Deepika D'Souza; Orient Blackswan, 3-6-752, Himayatnagar, Hyderabad-500029. Rs. 895. This book is a collection of essays covering an array of economic issues ranging from agriculture, poverty, food security, power, water, to governance, environment impact and sustainability of growth, and the impact of the World Bank on them. Even a cursory reading would show that it is a...

As government, corporates seek to engage with NGOs, they gain new significance Brave NGO World?     * The Planning Commission is courting NGOs for policy inputs, views on how to make plans work     * NGOs and local activism forced govt to stall Vedanta, Posco plans     * NGO opposition to snacks being served in schools changed plans to scrap hot meals     * NGO have made the government rethink the Polavaram dam project    ...

The class bias in government policy is clear in the decision to release a small amount of foodgrain in the open market to tackle inflation. MOST people would agree that there is a strong element of speculation underlying the current inflation and that forward trading contributes to it. Yet the government, though it has banned forward trading in certain commodities under public pressure, is curiously reluctant to see this point....

Five years ago, the Prime Minister launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), calling it the single-largest initiative of the government of India for a planned development of our cities. This unique, Rs 50,000-crore (subsequently enhanced to Rs 66,000 crore) programme to be implemented over a seven years from 2005 to 2012 focuses mainly on 65 mission cities with provision kept also for other small towns. While the...