The total expenditure on central schemes for the poor and on the major subsidies exceeds the states' share of central taxes. These schemes are chronic bad performers due to a culture of immunity in public administration and weakened local governments. Arguing that the poor should be trusted to use these resources better than the state, a radical redirection with substantial direct transfers to individuals and complementary decentralisation to local governments...

-The Hindu Bangalore: The recent police crackdown in Ramnagaram on organ trading resulted in the arrest of a few middlemen, who were found to have lured Donors to part with their kidneys for a pittance. But the arrests and investigations have not deterred the touts who run a thriving organ trade business right here, under the very nose of the city police. A team from The Hindu posed as relatives of a...

-The Hindu Investigations reveal that one of the accused has been running the racket for the past five years Bangalore: Intensifying investigations into the illegal kidney transplantation racket, involving government officials and major hospitals in the city that has been busted, the Ramanagaram district police detained a few more persons for questioning on Thursday. The detained persons are part of the kidney sale network thriving in and around Bangalore. A senior police officer, who...

-The Hindu ‘Governments must protect interest of producer, consumer’ The controversy regarding India’s permission to allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and growing “land grab” in Africa by multinational corporations are being closely watched globally by agriculture experts, researchers and Donors. At a workshop here on ‘Supporting Policy Research to Inform Agricultural Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia’ — which a few journalists from both regions were invited to attend —...

-DNA Top corporates and businessmen appear to be in a rush to defend themselves following a report in New Delhi-based tabloid Mail Today that they funded Arvind Kejriwal-led India Against Corruption (IAC). The Tata Social Welfare Trust clarified that while it had indeed made a grant of Rs 25 lakh a year to Kejriwal’s NGO, the Ghaziabad-based Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF) beginning 2009, the money was not meant to be used...