-The Indian Express   The finance ministry has come to an agreement with the department of industrial policy and promotion about what the government’s policy towards foreign direct investment in retail should look like. This means the retail FDI proposal will be placed before the cabinet soon, and hopefully will be cleared as soon as possible. Currently, only 51 per cent foreign investment is permitted, and only in stores selling a single...

Health is a state of mental, social and physical well-being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity. To achieve this noble objective, India requires health care professionals who are trained in institutions with standardised infrastructure, and the availability of accessible and equitable health care for both the rural and urban populace. Recently, the health sector has been in the news — from the creation of a rural based...

A sudden spurt in employment opportunities in Bihar is posing a peculiar problem for the rest of the country. More than 50 per cent of Bihar's labour force which usually migrates to other states is choosing to stay back for jobs. Till a few years back, Ram Vilas worked as construction labour in Delhi. With Bihar's economy looking up, Vilas has returned to the pavilion, armed with a job in hand. "I...

The claim that the Unique Identification project will facilitate the delivery of basic health services is dishonest. AMONG the many reasons cited for India to proceed with the Unique Identification (UID) project – that it will facilitate delivery of basic services, that it will plug leakages in public expenditure, that it will speed up achievement of targets in social sector schemes, and so on – the most specious is perhaps the...

-The Telegraph   The Union government today pledged Rs 100 crore to kickstart a fund that would seek to mobilise innovation focused on solving problems for sections of the population at the bottom of India’s socio-economic pyramid. The National Innovation Council (NIC), a government think tank, which has proposed the India Inclusive Innovation Fund has said it is designed to address concerns that existing innovation has often focused more on the wants of...