-The Hindu     CAG report uncovers forestland scam, says government lost thousands of crores The Comptroller and Auditor General in its latest report has unearthed a massive scam involving forestlands being given over to industry without following laid down regulations - in violation of Supreme Court orders and forest laws - and involving large-scale misuse of funds leading to a loss to the government running into thousands of crores. The report blames some...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister on Friday called for a political consensus on "more difficult reforms", indicating that the government was considering a cut in fuel subsidy, which would mean higher petrol and diesel prices, and bringing in measures to curb gold imports. Making a statement in the Lok Sabha on the current economic situation, Manmohan Singh admitted that the current account deficit had gone up sharply and...

-Frontline Once more, without feeling: the government's latest poverty estimates. YET again the Central government has mired itself in controversy by releasing its latest poverty estimates based on the consumption expenditure survey of the NSSO (National Sample Survey Office) Survey of 2011-12. The Planning Commission's poverty line, using methodology suggested by the Tendulkar Committee in 2010, is now apparently defined as the spending of Rs. 27.20 per capita per day in rural...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: After losing her husband to an illness, Jeyanthi (name changed) was forced to step in as the bread earner for her six young children. With no education, work was hard to come by for her, and existence was at bare subsistence levels. Jeyanthi got by, working as a casual labourer; and as her sons became older, they too pitched in. Life was to take a nastier...

-The Hindu What it signifies, what it does not tell us and what it will definitely not be used for Great shrillness has marked the current furore over the Planning Commission's latest poverty estimates. No surprise, therefore, that understanding and wisdom have flowed in an inverse proportion. Surprising and sad, however, is the fact that some political leaders have at times spoken in a manner deeply hurtful to the aam aadmi and...