-The Hindu Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha leader and former MLA Vatal Nagaraj is all set to embark upon one more protest. He will now put up toilet equipment and accessories on display at the Kempe Gowda bus stand here on May 8 to protest against the lack of toilet facilities for rural women. Announcing this at a press conference here on Tuesday, Mr. Nagaraj said that the protest would be taken to...

The Sonia-Gandhi led National Advisory Council is pushing to amend the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008 to make it more inclusive and include a comprehensive social security package. The council, which met last month, pitched for a security package that would contain health insurance, maternity assistance, a life-cum-disability insurance scheme and a pension plan that it proposed should be provided through a single window backed by an inter-ministerial committee consisting...

-The Hindu   One lakh LIG/EWS housing units to be ready in three years Delhi Development Authority vice-chairman G. S. Patnaik on Tuesday reaffirmed the Authority's intention to deliver one lakh housing units for low-income and economically weaker sections of society within three years. He said construction of 20,040 EWS houses using prefab-technology was progressing and he expected to deliver 8,000 of these units in 2012. Mr. Patnaik said that 12,000 demand letters were...

Recent events in south Asia have led to an unexpected reversal in the narrative of microfinance, long presented as a development success. Despite charges of poor treatment of clients, exaggeration of the impact on the poorest as well as the risks of credit bubbles, the sector can play a non-negligible role in reaching financial services to low-income households. In regulating the sector, there is need for caution in setting interest...

The anti-corruption movement has enabled the Indian middle class to feel smug about itself. Its members have gone through a vast range of emotions during the last two decades, from self-hatred to self-righteousness. Liberalisation of the economy has created for this class an excitement of many kinds. It has meant the freedom to pursue the quest for wealth without guilt and, at the same time, it has meant feeling set...