Neglected by conventional banks, low-income women in Satara have set one up themselves. Not long after Chetna Gala Sinha came to the drought-stricken region of Mhaswad in western Maharashtra to marry a farmer and prominent local social activist, she began putting her university degree in finance into action. Local women, she observed, were wearing themselves out in subsistence livelihood such as growing grapes or selling vegetables. In 1992, Chetna, who grew up...

-The Hindustan Times No one is above the law — this was chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s firm response to the Ficci (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) request to release the seven directors of Kolkata’s Advanced Medicare Research Institute (AMRI). The Delhi-based chamber of commerce had taken the plea that the directors had not been involved in the hospital operations. So their arrest following the December 9 fire, that killed...

Twelve government doctors involved in alleged illegal clinical trials in Indore have been slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 each when a probe committee had recommended stringent action like prosecution and cancellation of licences. The paltry fine has invoked strong reactions from health activists who called the action an eyewash and demanded that the government immediately suspend the doctors if it was serious about penalising them and setting an example. The 12...

Though Anna Hazare gets much of the credit for focusing the national spotlight on corruption, India was only too aware of the problem even before his agitation. According to a Pew Research poll in October 2010 (six months before Hazare emerged on the national scene), 98 per cent of Indians indicate corrupt political leaders as a “very big” or a “moderately big” problem. Hazare’s campaign did not attune Indians to...

-BBC At least 17 people have died after drinking tainted home-made alcohol over the weekend in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, officials say. More than 20 people are also being treated in hospital in the state's Krishna district. Deaths from illicit alcohol are not uncommon in India, as licensed liquor is often too expensive for the poor. In December, at least 169 people died after drinking toxic alcohol in West Bengal state. Protests The...