Last week, a group of 40 economists wrote an open letter to United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi arguing for cash transfer as a mode of delivery for the proposed National Food Security Act (NFSA). The letter was carried in detail in several newspapers including Mint. The good thing is that there is now almost a consensus, at least among economists, that whatever be the mode of delivery of subsidy,...

-The Economic Times   Eight in 10 countries are using mobile phone technology to improve health services, from free emergency calls to appointment reminders, the World Health Organisation has said. The global health body found that only 19 of 114 countries surveyed had no mobile health initiative, known as mHealth. "Eighty three percent are actually saying, yes we are involved with a minimum of one mHealth project," said Misha Kay , who studies...

-PTI   CPI has refused to answer a questionnaire on provisions of Lokpal Bill sent by the government, saying it will state their views and suggestions during the discussion on the issue in Parliament. In a letter to joint Lokpal Bill drafting committee chairman and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, party general secretary A B Bardhan said at no stage were the political parties involved or ever consulted during the entire process of...

The World Bank has approved $1 billion as credit and loan to support India's efforts to clean up the Ganga river. The sprawling river basin accounts for a fourth of the country's water resources and is home to more than 400 million people. The $1.556 billion National Ganga River Basin Project with $1 billion in financing from the World Bank group, including $199 million interest-free credit and $801 million low-interest loan, was...

-The Hindu   The South Asia Media Commission India has expressed deep concern over the suggestion of a government-appointed committee to use official advertisements to manage the media. The suggestion is contained in the report of the Sri Krishna Committee, formed by the Union government to study the Telangana issue. Part of a secret note, it comes to light in a judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on a petition on...