-The Indian Express Of late, there has been much public debate around the effectiveness of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), particularly on its targeting of the poor and the socioeconomic profile of its beneficiaries (most notably in this newspaper). It is important to look at these claims closely, not as much to counter them but as to present the real picture that has been undermined by often-unsubstantiated...

-Frontline How far will the proposed women's bank help marginalised sections when women's SHGs get little support and find it hard even to open accounts in public sector banks? WHILE the recent announcement of a women's bank in the Union budget has been touted as a progressive measure for the financial inclusion of women, no concrete measures have been forthcoming to make all existing public sector banks sensitive to the needs...

-The Financial Express Leading economists who fear that the cost of the food security law on the exchequer would be much higher than estimated by the government have a seemingly unlikely ally - farmers' groups. A couple of national-level farmers' organisations have opposed the National Food Security Bill, saying it would "lead to nationalisation of agriculture by making the government the biggest buyer, hoarder and seller of foodgrains". Farmers' representatives from a...

-The Pioneer Minister misused Corporate slot to raise funds for family Trust Union Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily could be in the dock for raising funds for his family controlled trust from a corporate giant when he was Corporate Affairs Minister. Moily faces another serious case of conflict of interest as a top official of Reliance Industries is advisor to a company controlled by Moily’s son Harsha Moily. Even earlier, the Minister...

-The Indian Express An accountability framework is critical for flagship schemes In his budget speech, the finance minister gave the assurance that all flagship programmes of the government would be adequately funded. The government pours substantial funds into 70 Centrally sponsored schemes. In 2011-12, an amount of Rs 1,88,573 crore was allocated for the implementation of 13 development programmes, such as the MGNREGA, PMGSY, NRHM and JNNURM, under the auspices of nine...