-The Economic Times Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has said he had directed three institutions - NIPFP, NIFM and NCAER - to come out with a defendable assessment of the quantum of black money stashed away by Indians in foreign banks. Replying to the discussion on the adjournment motion moved in the House by BJP veteran LK Advani on "the situation arising out black money deposited illegally in foreign banks", Mukherjee declared...

Government proposes to provide basic insurance coverage to an estimated 43 crore unorganized workers Furthering the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s objective of inclusive growth, the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi will discuss ways of bringing India’s unorganized workers under the social security net in its meeting on 29 November. A new NAC working group on social security is working on draft recommendations that will seek to...

Muslims in general may be opposed to the creation of a separate Telangana state but analysis of region-wise employment figures for Andhra Pradesh shows that in the 10 districts of Telangana region, Muslims and OBCs have suffered the highest loss of Rs 41.50 in rural per capita income between 1993-94 and 2004-05.  On the higher education front, the community remains the most backward in urban areas, with the absolute change being...

Mayawati may have demanded reservation for the Muslims in proportion to their population, but the community has little to cheer about during her five years' rule in Uttar Pradesh. An analysis of Muslims' share in employment and education shows how since 2007 the Muslims have fared worse than dalits in UP on the education front. Demolishing the tall claims of the minority concentration districts' programme to smithereens, the study shows...

Do agencies like the Ford Foundation push their own agenda through the NGOs they support? It’s often said, tongue in cheek, that India’s “shadow” government works out of the nondescript, low-slung buildings abutting the Lodhi Garden in Delhi. That’s partly hubris, but it also stems from being close to the centre of power. This rarefied zone houses powerful “cultural” institutions like the India International Centre, as well as a host...