With India growing faster than almost every other large economy, the government is right to address its long-run challenges. The push for investment in infrastructure is bearing fruit and the expansion of social programmes such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Right to Education Act (RTE) is spreading the benefits of growth across the population. But just as improved infrastructure doesn’t eliminate all traffic jams, rapid growth...
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Land acquisition case: Manesar farmers to gherao Parliament
Protesting against the states land acquisition programme, farmers from nine villages near the IMT, decided on Sunday that they would organize a mass demonstration near the Parliament house in New Delhi on the March 2. More than a thousand people from over 50 villages of the nearby region are expected to participate in the demonstration. The controversial land acquisition issue has already been forwarded to the chief minister of state,...
More »Hard questions about soft questions by P Sainath
There was in fact a successful auction of spectrum — only it was not conducted by the government but by its corporate sector cronies who made a fortune on the deal. On one pronouncement of his, you have to agree with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. His is not a ‘lame-duck government.' Cooked goose seems the more appropriate soubriquet. However, not a single new scam worth over Rs. 1 lakh crore has...
More »Promises to keep by Harsh Mander
Even four years after the Sachar Committee Report revealed that Muslims were one of the most economically backward and socially disadvantaged communities, nothing much has been done to address the development deficits of this community. The Constitution of the republic of free India was crafted in troubled but idealistic times. The Indian people were still reeling from Partition bloodshed and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, in the dark shadows of politics...
More »NAC pushing for its version of Food Security Bill by Smita Gupta
Union Food Ministry to convene consultation of its officials with NAC and EAC representatives Pressure from the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) on the new Union Food Minister, K.V. Thomas, to accept its recommendations rather than the watered down version of the Rangarajan panel, which was set up to examine the NAC's recommendations, appears to be working. Government sources told The Hindu that the Union Food Ministry is hoping to shortly...
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