-The Economic Times Cash transfer in various forms has been used in many countries to target support to the poor and achieve social objectives. In India, its introduction has generated more passion than rational debate. The scheme is not a magic bullet, but if properly implemented and targeted, cash transfer is a very sensible instrument of social assistance. In India, the rationale for introducing the scheme seems to be to check...

-World Bank Blog The enormity of the global job-creation challenge is underscored in a comprehensive new analysis by the International Finance Corporation, which issued a wide-ranging Jobs Study at a recent IFC forum  on the urgency of the unemployment crisis. More than 200 million people are now unemployed worldwide – with another 1.5 billion people only marginally employed, and with an additional 2 billion working-age adults neither working nor seeking a...

-The Hindu While there is reason to be proud of the progress in the production of wheat, rice, cereals and millets, the use of farmland for non-farm purposes is a cause for concern The year 2013 marks the 70th anniversary of the Bengal Famine which resulted in the death of an estimated 1.5 to 3 million children, women and men during 1942-43. A constellation of factors led to this mega-tragedy, such as...

-Live Mint Proposal aimed at beefing up security, besides making sure development reaches neglected parts of India A day after the government pledged the partial decontrol of sugar in the next fortnight, the Union cabinet on Thursday approved a set of significant measures aimed at tackling Maoist insurgency and asserting its strategic hold over an area claimed by neighbouring China.   The measures approved involve upgrading rural road connectivity with special emphasis on...

-Outlook While great awareness has been raised about sexual violence against women in India, much less is known about the problem of sexual abuse of children' Summary The rape and murder of a student in New Delhi on December 16, 2012, followed by large public protests, has led to a great deal of soul searching about the problem of sexual violence in India. Politicians, lawyers, women’s rights activists, and an independent government...