-The Telegraph Most poor families in Jharkhand may not have heard of the word “bank”. But they are Banking on a better future for their daughters, thanks to the ubiquitous village post office, which they are now embracing to reap the benefits of a thoughtful government scheme. Over 2,000 saving accounts have been opened at different post offices across districts in just one month to tap the Mukhyamantri Ladli Laxmi Yojana that...

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati's assets doubled to Rs. 111.64 crores (approx. $22 million) during her term as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. In her affidavit filed along with the nomination for the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) elections on Tuesday, Mayawati has declared total assets of Rs 111.64 crore, which is more than double of Rs. 52 crore she declared in May 2007 when she contested for the...

Parliament must use budget session to discuss key pending bills The budget session of Parliament begins today. The last few sessions have been characterised by disruptions and consequent loss of productive time. To see one indicator, the 15th Lok Sabha, half-way through its term, has lost 30 per cent of scheduled time — the worst ever. As a result, many important bills have been pending. It is to be seen whether...

-The Economic Times Small and marginal farmers who constitute more than 80% of total farmer households in the country face exclusion from formal financial channels," says the Nair Committee on priority sector lending. The same report says "commercial banks have been prescribed targets since late 1960s for priority sector lending".  The Banking system failed the farmers and the needy despite nationalisation, but is there a viable model that could help the millions...

-Reuters The Congress party trailed in fourth place as vote counting neared its end in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, a bitter election blow to Rahul Gandhi who had staked his political future on reviving his party's fortunes in the state. Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that ruled India for most of its 65 years of independence, had campaigned tirelessly to revive his party in the politically crucial state where it has...