-Tehelka The cash transfer debate has turned political with BJP complaining to the Election Commission about the timing of the announcement. It claims the scheme was declared with Gujarat polls in mind. However the Congress-led Central government rubbished the allegation and said the announcement happened in March. Even the political slugfest continues, the debate among experts and activists hasn’t died down. Akshai Jain spoke to a few experts about the various...

-The Economic Times The government is likely to shoot down the department of financial services’ (DFS) plan to appoint common banking correspondent companies for transferring cash to poor people, and replace it with a countrywide network of ‘micro ATMs’, as it seeks to finalise the last-mile payment architecture for cash transfers.   In a meeting on Monday evening, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani, and Planning Commission officials met Finance...

-The Economic Times Something interesting happened in Mumbai last month. For the first time ever, Harvard Business School stepped out of its Boston campus to bring its leadership and corporate accountability programme for senior corporate executives to India. The programme focuses on promoting socially and financially responsible corporate conduct. In an environment where scams and business scandals are making headlines every day, the turnout for the four-day programme was expectedly impressive. "Corruption...

-The Hindu India’s drug price control order, which is vital to the availability of affordable essential medicines, has been whittled down to the point of becoming insignificant. While the number of price-controlled medicines has dwindled over the past three decades, from 347 to 74, the pharmaceutical industry has been pursuing super profits. The High Level Expert Group of the Planning Commission on Universal Health Coverage noted in its report that price...

-MoneyControl.com The benefits of the cash transfer scheme to be rolled-out from January 1 in 51 districts will reach the intended beneficiary only by February-March, said Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahlwualia. The benefits of the cash transfer scheme to be rolled-out from January 1 in 51 districts will reach the intended beneficiary only by February-March, said Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahlwualia.   In an interview to Karan Thapar for CNN-IBN...