-Down to Earth Grand old party of India renews some old promises and makes some new ones, but will Congress live up to its promises if it wins a third term? The Indian National Congress (INC) presented its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Wedneday. The manifesto committee claimed the 48-page document was prepared after wide consultations by engaging millions of people, grassroots congress workers and every section of the...

-The Hindu The digital divide has gone out of favour, but millions of Indians not only remain illiterate, but are unable to access welfare schemes Is there a clash between social media and social movements? Or, can social media be used to promote social movements? As political parties intensify their use of social media and election fever heightens in a country where millions are illiterate and have little access to technology, these questions...

-The Hindu     Nearly three years after the government began experimenting with Aadhaar-based payments in Jharkhand, it has not been able to start disbursing payments to beneficiaries at their doorstep Jharkhand was one of five pilot States chosen for an Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS). Beginning with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) payments in select blocks in four districts in 2012, AEPS added pension and scholarship schemes and the Janani Suraksha...

-Outlook Mumbai: RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today said individuals without a bank account will soon be able to receive money from those with bank accounts, using automated teller machines (ATM). "We have recently approved the in-principle setting up of a payment system which will facilitate funds transfer from bank account holders to those without accounts through ATMs," he said, delivering the DR Gadgil lecture here. Rajan said the move is driven by the...

-The Hindu What is it that spurs an individual to quit a Government job and take up farming as a full time profession? Or why does an MBA student be more interested to become a full time farmer than work in a company? "If the annual agriculture income is more than a salaried income, youngsters will take the plunge into it. Unlike the old adage that agriculture comprises only old people into...