-The Indian Express Of late, there has been much public debate around the effectiveness of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), particularly on its targeting of the poor and the socioeconomic profile of its beneficiaries (most notably in this newspaper). It is important to look at these claims closely, not as much to counter them but as to present the real picture that has been undermined by often-unsubstantiated...
More »SEARCH RESULT
CAG raps AP government over financial management
-PTI HYDERABAD: A day after the Chief Minister remarked that observations of CAG were "not scriptures", the public auditor picked many holes in Andhra Pradesh government's budgeting process and financial management even as it praised the state for achieving fiscal reform targets. In its report on the state finances for 2011-12, the CAG rapped the government for failing to ensure proper utilisation of allotted funds, particularly on capital works, resulting in staggering...
More »Food bill norms give contractors the edge -Nitin Sethi
-The Times of India The government has provided a back-door entry for contractors and the food industry to corner the lucrative ICDS food supply budget through the National Food Security Bill - a move that had seen controversy earlier too but could now become part of the law if passed by Parliament. In a footnote to one of the three schedules of the bill, the government has provided that children between 6...
More »UPA exports wheat at Rs 1,700 crore loss to exchequer -Pradeep Thakur
-The Times of India At a time when the government is facing trouble maintaining its fiscal health and is set to add over Rs 1.25 lakh crore to its subsidy bill for providing food security to its poor, the UPA has burdened the exchequer further by exporting wheat at lower than its cost price - incurring an estimated loss of over Rs 1,700 crore. Sources in the finance ministry said the loss...
More »Prof. Reetika Khera, Development economist IIT Delhi interviewed by Sreelatha Menon
-The Business Standard Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi professor and development economist Reetika Khera tells Sreelatha Menon that the food Bill may not be a leap ahead, but it is certainly a step forward * The food Bill is a guarantee for lifelong dependence on government doles. As an economist, can one defend such a policy? The food Bill should be seen as an investment. "Labour" is India's most important asset. In that sense,...
More »