-Down to Earth The local administration in Jharkhand is undermining the decentralised scheme, created to enhance livelihood, manage natural resources and improve basic infrastructure in rural areas Yojna Banao Abhiyan (YBA) was an outcome of two government programmes – Mission Antodaya (Intensive Participatory Planning Exercise (IPPE-II)) of the Ministry of Rural Development, and Gram Panchayat Development Planning of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. It gave an opportunity to newly elected gram panchayats...

-Business Standard The Commission says incentives for states will be decided, among others, by "control or lack of it in incurring expenditure on populist measures" New Delhi: States offering debt waivers or slipping on centrally funded programmes, such as Swacch Bharat, could get penalised, according to the terms set for the 15th Finance Commission. The terms of reference of the Commission, set up by the central government this week, makes these conditions...

-Down to Earth Can we not go from being poor but unhealthy to being rich and healthy? Why should we inherit diseases that can be junked? In June 2017, BRItish medical journal Lancet published a review of the prevalence of diabetes in 15 states of India. This study by a group of medical practitioners, funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has worrying numbers. It finds that while some...

-Newsclick.in This might help understand why there is a huge gap between the amount of loans banks claim they have given to the farmers and the amount that is actually received by the farmers. If you ever find yourself with time on your hands, and don’t know what to do with it – here is something that you can do. Just go to the website of Reserve Bank of India, and search...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Politicians of various stripes have started to raise red flags about a provision in a bill that the Narendra Modi government intends to move in the Lok Sabha in the upcoming winter session, which could theoretically allow beleaguered banks and financial institutions to scoop up depositors' money to stop them from going bust. It is called a "bail-in" - a concept coined during the European banking crisis of...