-The Indian Express The census figures are in line with the report of the Sachar Committee that was set up by the UPA government to assess the status of Indian Muslim. Muslims have the lowest share of working people among all communities, as per the Census 2011 data. The Ministry of Minority Affairs admitted this while replying to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha Thursday. Quoting from the census data, Minister of...

-The Indian Express The average annual MGNREGA spend in TN, for instance, is two-and-a-half times more than that for Bihar. Is the PMGSY more pro-poor compared to MGNREGA? Going by where monies under the two programmes get spent, the answer could well be yes. In a recent analysis, NC Saxena, Distinguished Fellow of the policy think-tank Skoch Development Foundation and former Secretary, Planning Commission, has noted how the expenditure on MGNREGA is...

-The Hindu Medicines remain overpriced and unaffordable in India. In a country mired in poverty, medical debt remains the second biggest factor for keeping millions in poverty. The international pharmaceutical industry has found its cash cow in India’s beleaguered consumers. With a minimum wage of Rs.250/day for a government worker, a basic wage worker afflicted with a chronic disease like multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis faces penury. His treatment, with drug combinations, which works out...

-Hindustan Times Less than a day before the Railway budget is presented in the parliament, former railways minister Dinesh Trivedi’s allegations against incumbent minister Suresh Prabhu of “fudging numbers” and concealing facts about the organisation’s financial health have surfaced in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that also charges Prabhu of copying Trivedi’s earlier budget speech. Citing that the current Operating Ratio (every paisa spent against a rupee earned) had reached...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court today chided the Delhi government for "resting in AC chambers" while expecting the judiciary to hand it a solution to the capital's water crisis "on a platter". Bearing the brunt was Delhi water minister Kapil Mishra, whose government has sought an apex court directive to the Centre and Haryana to restore water supply from Haryana's Munak canal, which the Jat protesters have allegedly damaged. Chief Justice...