Sending a clear message that the 2G spectrum allocation of 2008 is a scam and not the result of a government policy decision, the Supreme Court today quashed the grant of 122 UAS licences and allocation of spectrum to 12 private companies. Even as the trial in the 2G case progresses in a Patiala House trial court in Delhi, a bench of Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly held...

The Planning Commission and the finance ministry are at odds over the accounting of plan and non-plan schemes in the budget.  While the finance ministry is pushing for inclusion of more than 10 non-plan schemes in the planned budget for the next financial year, the Planning Commission is resisting the move as it would eat into the share of existing schemes. The commission's reluctance follows an expected cut or flat allocation...

-The Business Standard   Its guarantee of non-duplication can have far-reaching cost benefits but it has deep design flaws that can be compromised. PRAVEEN CHAKRAVARTY Former Volunteer, Financial Inclusion, UIDAI* “Aadhaar is an unadulterated identity programme that answers the question: Is the individual who he or she claims to be?”   The word “unique”, and not “identity”, is central to the unique identity programme or Aadhaar. It may be true that the vast majority of people possess some...

-The Times of India   The per capita income of Indians for the first time crossed the Rs 50,000-mark in 2010-11, although using current prices as the barometer. According to the revised GDP data for the last financial year, per capita income is estimated to have risen 16.9% to Rs 53,331 compared to Rs 46,117 in the previous year. The $1,000-average income of Indians is seen to be illusionary in economic circles as...

For the Government of India the first phase of the national solar mission has been a grand success. It not only managed to attract industry to invest in the generation of an energy considered costly, but also dramatically drove down the cost of producing this energy. In its celebration, little did the government realise that a major conglomerate had subverted rules to acquire a stake in the solar mission much...