-Outlook State-owned banks have been asked to strictly adhere to the March, 2014 time-line for converting all Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) to ATM cards, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said. "All KCCs will be converted to ATM cards. I have impressed upon all chairpersons of the banks that this time-line must be strictly adhered to," Chidambaram said following a meeting with the chief executives of state-run banks. State-owned lenders were asked to convert...

-The Economic Times Pan Singh Tomar, the legendary steeplechase athlete-turned-dacoit, earned an annual salary of 120 or thereabouts from the Indian Army, where he served as a hawildar in the 1950s. These days, his great grandson roams around their ancestral village dispensing similar amounts to those at the bottom of the Indian pyramid. If Tomar Sr had resorted to guns for the latter part of his life, Anuj Singh Tomar too has...

-The Times of India Everyone agrees that India needs to deliver social protection to the aam admi; the forthcoming Food Security Bill is one such attempt. Everyone also agrees that the government service delivery pipelines are riddled with leakages and largescale corruption. Direct cash transfers have been proposed as a way to remedy this defective system. However, as could be expected, the debate has become polarised, with one side believing that cash...

-PTI Employees of public sector banks have gone on two-day nationwide strike today opposing banking sector reforms and outsourcing of non-core activities, affecting operations. Several private sector banks, foreign banks and ATMs, however, continued to operate normally. The strike call was given by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation of nine unions of employees and officers of PSU banks. They are protesting against banking sector reforms and unilateral implementation of...

-The Times of India RANCHI: If deposits in banks are indicative of prosperity of a region, Jharkhand villages have been blazing quite a trail over the past couple of years. The volume of money deposited with rural Bank branches witnessed a whopping 34% increase over the last fiscal as against increase of mere 19% in the urban Bank branches. With emphasis on financial inclusion, linking MGNREGA wages with bank accounts and...