-PTI The BJP alleged there was a "big scam" worth Rs 10,000 crore in the implementation of the scheme and demanded strict action against those responsible Expressing serious concern over the implementation of the Rs 52,000-crore farm debt waiver scheme, government auditor Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Tuesday said in several cases ineligible farmers were given benefit while deserving ones were left out. The CAG has also found instances of tampering of...

-Live Mint Former Irda chief spells out the problems with regulating the insurance sector in an interview Regulators are sometimes not too keen on laying down the law because they may be too close to the industry that they are charged with making sure is complying with rules, said J. Hari Narayan, who stepped down on Wednesday as chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda).   “There is a lot going on...

-The Guardian In a village in India's poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Sumant Kumar was overjoyed when he harvested his rice last year. There had been good rains in his village of Darveshpura in north-east India and he knew he could improve on the four or five tonnes per hectare that he usually...

-The Hindu The CBI, expanding its coalgate probe, has launched investigations against 300-odd companies and begun questioning officials of the Steel, Coal and Power departments, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited and the state-run Coal India Limited on allocation of coal blocks between 1993 and 2008. The CBI has laid hands on nearly 700 files from the Coal Ministry, running into 1,60,000 pages,...

A report by a parliamentary standing committee entrusted to examine the National Food Security Bill, 2011 has revived the debate on what measures India must take to end its abysmal track record of hunger and malnutrition, (See several links given below) despite successive years of high growth and record grain procurement. The draft legislation is likely to be debated in the upcoming session of Parliament, even as the recent Jaipur...