-The Times of India NEW DELHI: When finance minister P Chidambaram presents his first interim budget on Monday, he is expected to devote a significant chunk of his speech - which may be between 12 and 18 pages - to UPA government's spending on social sector schemes, especially health, education and rural development. But what is probably going to slip through is the fact that these sectors actually witnessed a comparatively...

-DNA The government's lack of focus on agriculture shows its lopsided priorities. In the coming months, about 1.5 crore farmers who quit agriculture in the past seven years, are likely to trudge back into the villages. In normal circumstances such a massive reverse migration - from the cities back to the villages - would have been a sign of inclusive growth. But economists are taking this U-turn as a sign of...

-Outlook The government today cut Rs 79,790 crore from the budgeted Plan expenditure of Rs 5,55,532 crore for the current financial year against the backdrop of a burgeoning fiscal deficit. The Interim Budget 2014-15, presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Parliament, projected revised estimates of the Plan expenditure at Rs 4,75,532 crore for 2013-14. For the next financial year starting April 1, the government has kept the the Budget Estimates of Plan...

-Down to Earth Four-day world congress on agroforestry in Delhi pushes for accelerating growing trees on farms for sustainable agriculture and mitigating climate change impacts In what is seen as a ground-breaking move, India has become the first nation in the world to adopt an agroforestry policy. The National Agroforestry Policy, which deals with the practice of integrating trees, crops and livestock on the same plot of land, was launched February 10,...

-The Hindu Programme Officer in every State should help workers get UIDAI numbers, says Ministry The Ministry of Rural Development on Tuesday directed the States not to deny workers job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural employment Guarantee Act for non-possession of either bank/post office account numbers or the Aadhaar card. The instructions, a copy of which is available with The Hindu, say it is the responsibility of the MGNREGA Programme Officer...