-The Hindu Among SAARC nations, it’s third behind Sri Lanka, Maldives India slipped down one place from 130 to 131 among the 188 countries ranked in terms of human development, says the 2016 Human Development Report (HDR) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday. India’s human development index (HDI) value of 0.624 puts it in the “medium human development” category, alongside countries such as Congo, Namibia and Pakistan. It is...

-PTI New Delhi: A Rs. 48,000-crore Budget for the national capital was presented today by the AAP Government, laying major focus on improving transport, health, water distribution and education infrastructure. In its third Budget, the Arvind Kejriwal Government abolished the Plan and non-Plan expenditure heads and presented it in terms of revenue and capital classification in line with the Centre’s decision. There was no proposal on levying any new tax. 'Outcome budget' In a first,...

-The Indian Express The auditor also pointed out that there was no provision in the scheme for purchase of laptop bags and mugs. Chandigarh: Finding loopholes in the implementation of Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao (BBBP) campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found diversion of funds meant for the campaign in Panipat district. According to CAG’s latest report, over Rs 3 lakh were spent on “preparation”...

-The Telegraph After the third general elections held in 1962, the scholar-statesman, C. Rajagopalachari, wrote a fascinating, if now forgotten, essay on the imperfections of our young democracy. "The Indian electorate", remarked Rajaji, "suffers from well-known defects from which Western democracies are relatively free. The Indian voters are in great measure poor and vulnerable to bribery: even a day's expense for food serves to buy a large number of the poor...

-The Hindu Business Line It should have considered universal basic income. But sadly, budgets are not seen as a means to meet socio-economic goals The Union Budget attracts considerable media hype and debate. Democracy, if understood as a contract between the state and its citizens, may have to use the budgetary process to ensure not only prosperity for all, but justice or fairness to the most disadvantaged among them as well. A rational...