-Live Mint The big question is whether commitment made by Chidambaram-to contain fiscal deficit at 4.8% of GDP-will be met With the current account deficit in check, the spotlight is now on the second major macroeconomic problem that needs to be fixed: the fiscal deficit. The big question is whether commitment made by finance minister P. Chidambaram in the budget-to contain the fiscal deficit at 4.8% of gross domestic product (GDP)-will be...

-PTI Allaying fears of a spurt in public expenditure ahead of Lok Sabha polls, finance minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said government will not compromise on fiscal discipline, notwithstanding the defeat of Congress in four states, including Delhi and Rajasthan. Inaugurating the Delhi Economic Conclave, Chidambaram blamed the states for "inaction" to check hoarding and said the incumbent government pays a price for high inflation. "The agenda, therefore, will be obvious. At the...

-Frontline DAVID SANDERS, Professor Emeritus and founding Director of the School of Public Health at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa, is a specialist paediatrician with postgraduate qualifications in public health. One of the founders of the global public health movement, he has over 30 years' experience in health policy and programme development in Zimbabwe and South Africa, having advised governments as well as organisations such as...

The Pension Parishad is holding a dharna in Delhi for the rights of elderly since 26 November. It has demanded that a Universal and Non Contributory Old Age Pension System should be established with a minimum dignified amount of monthly pension not less than 50% of minimum wage or Rs 2000/- per month, whichever is higher. Despite several rounds of talk held between the campaign leaders and the Government in...

-Live Mint/ Bloomberg As much as better policies and better tax system, it's the humble toilet that can be an engine of future Indian growth On Tuesday, the United Nations marked its inaugural World Toilet Day, designed to draw attention to the fact that more than one-sixth of humanity still lacks indoor sanitation, and that the world needs new ideas and technologies to deal with one of the most basic...