The Government does not bother to know what crops are being sown “India's daily turnover from vegetables and fruits could be easily about Rs. 275 crores (US$ 59 million). The estimated cost of ‘wastage' per day, is around Rs. 130 crores (US$ 27 million). In summary, it's a lot bigger than some of the Indian IT sector's daily turnover”, says Mr. Venkat Subramanian, Founder and Managing Director, Matchbox Solutions, a company...

To many, ecology clearances coming in quick succession first for the 12-million-tonne steel project, including a captive power complex and a minor port that the South Korean Posco is diligently pursuing for close to six years and then for SAIL’s three mining leases at Chiria in Jharkhand appear as history bending revolutions. This is because the ministry of environment and forests, led by environment zealot Jairam Ramesh was till the...

Four mega-programmes of the government, meant to tackle big-ticket issues like child nutrition, school education, health and employment, appear to be faltering not because funds are short but because adequate manpower has not been put in place. This is the surprising finding of a new study done by the Center for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), a New Delhi based think tank. The four mega-programs are Integrated Child Development Services...

This budget season, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is stuck juggling multiple imperatives. Big social-sector schemes are soaking up money; yes, the economy is rebounding, but growth needs careful watching; the fiscal deficit is widening, feeding inflationary fears; and, as usual, every ministry wants more money. It doesn’t surprise much, therefore, that the finance ministry is looking for ways in which government expenditure can be managed better. One giant hole has...

Hundreds of infants in Kenya received their first shots against pneumococcal disease today at a special United Nations-backed event to celebrate the global roll-out of vaccines targeting the world’s leading cause of child deaths – pneumonia. President Mwai Kibaki joined parents, health workers, ambassadors and donors in Nairobi to witness children being immunised as part of the Government’s formal introduction of pneumococcal vaccine in its routine immunisation programme for all children. Kenya...