-Live Mint High on hype, the budget speech of the Union finance minister today is merely a statement of account. As India’s economy diversifies—with the private sector playing an increasingly important role—this annual feature has assumed much lower salience. Not only have fiscal policies lost the space they enjoyed in earlier years, even major policy announcements are restricted to being mere statements of account. Examples from other arenas include “activism” on...

-The Times of India The government has been unable to explain why public sector firms imported pulses at a loss of 21%-30% a year from 2006 to 2011 adding up to Rs 1,200 crore, while private importers did not appear to have suffered such a misfortune. Questioned by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee about the " pulses scam" revealed in a Comptroller and Auditor General report, senior commerce and consumer affairs officials has...

-The Times of India   The UPA government is bracing for a mega strike on February 28, backed by trade unions cutting across party lines, in protest against rising prices, disinvestment of profit-making PSUs and violation of labour laws among other reasons. They will be joined by around 8 lakh bank employees who are protesting against reforms and outsourcing of jobs.  Almost all sectors, except railways, are likely to come to a stop...

  MGNREGA, which entitles millions of workers enrolled under it to at least Rs 100 a day for 100 days of work in a year, is undergoing an overhaul based on a set of recommendations of a committee headed by the Planning Commission member Mihir Shah.   Encapsulated in The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 - Operational Guidelines 2012 in what is being called “MGNREGA 2.0”, the recommendations aim for...

-PTI Social activist and anti-Corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Saturday said that 2014 would be "the year of change". Inaugurating the 'National Youth Integration Camp' organised by Snehalaya and National Youth Project, Hazare said, "Mentality of the Indian youth is changing rapidly, and the year 2014 would be the year of change. If the youth resolve, they can change the system." The next general elections are due on 2014. The anti-Corruption crusader, who...