The corruption paranoia, blamed for the policy paralysis at the Centre, is threatening to take a toll on Bengal by clouding the timetable of the much-delayed Jindal steel plant at Salboni. Banks and financial institutions are unwilling to give loans to the project because of uncertainties surrounding the mining sector. The Jindal project may require loans totalling Rs 10,000 crore in the first phase to build a 3-million-tonne plant. The proposed Salboni...
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States fail to pay dues to jobless under MGNREGS by Devika Banerji
-The Economic Times States owe rural job seekers more than Rs 68 crore in unemployment dole, undermining the effectiveness of the government's flagship rural jobs guarantee scheme that has millions of workers in its fold. Workers enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are entitled to unemployment allowance if they are not provided a job within 15 days of applying for it. Although the allowance is to...
More »'People should suggest the way ahead for Team Anna’ by Arvind Kejriwal
The anti-corruption movement is at the crossroads today. Where do we go from here? We are conscious that a wrong decision at this stage could prove disastrous for the movement. I met Anna in hospital two days back. Most of the time, I found him in deep thought. More than his physical ailment, he is suffering from a deep sense of being cheated. He is deeply hurt. When he went to...
More »Focused solutions required to clear pending cases by Bibek Debroy
-The Economic Times All of us are bothered, or should be, about interminable delays in adjudication through formal legal systems. Gypsies are believed to have originated in India and there is a gypsy curse - may you have a lawsuit in which you are in the right. In 2010, there were 54,600 cases stuck in Supreme Court, 4.18 million in high courts and 27.89 million in lower (district and subordinate) courts. Pedantic...
More »MGNREGA not replacement for existing job avenues: Government to SC
-The Economic Times The government has told the Supreme Court that its flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MNREGA) is a social security safeguard and not an alternative employment avenue. Challenging the Karanataka High Court ruling on wages under the MGNREGA, the Centre has said that its flagship programme is a "supplement" and not a "replacement" for existing employment opportunities. Though meant as a dole, the MNREGA programme has more...
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