Centre favours CBI inquiry into alleged misappropriation of funds With the Congress-led Union government favouring a CBI enquiry, in its affidavit before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court, into embezzlement in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme funds, trouble is apparently brewing for the BSP government under Chief Minister Mayawati, who is already bearing the brunt of the NHRM scam in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. The Centre filed the affidavit...

Indian public policy often short-circuits because there are too many crossed wires: one agency trying to do another’s work, and arguments being invoked in contexts in which they are inappropriate. There has been much speculation about the Ministry of Home Affairs’ objections to Aadhar in its current form. But it will be a travesty if the project of identification is moved from its current service delivery-oriented paradigm to a security-oriented...

-The Economic Times The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was started in 2005 by the first UPA government. It has had some positive results: after 15 years of stagnation , over 1,00,000 new healthcare professionals have been inducted and more and more village women are admitted to institutions to deliver babies.  But in India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, the NRHM is at the centre of a massive corruption racket. Three senior medical...

MPLADS funds will only be used for the material component of the projects Federal lawmakers can now use their discretionary funds to finance work taken up under the government’s flagship jobs scheme, a move aimed at creating more lasting community assets in the villages. The government has decided to converge the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). But MPLADS funds...

The commerce ministry will announce rules to simplify and rationalize procedures to revive special economic zones, hoping to draw investors to these enclaves once touted as centres of export excellence.  The changes, which will be notified in a week, could include a reduction the minimum-area requirement, easier vacancy and contiguity norms and allowing multi-product SEZs in sector-specific zones.  "There will be reforms and changes in policies pertaining to SEZs mainly to simplify...