-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The UPA government unveiled a Rs 40-crore Bharat Nirman campaign on Wednesday which showcases policy initiatives like the direct transfer scheme to intended beneficiaries, Aadhar, land acquisition, food security, women's empowerment and RTI. Describing the "Glimpses of India Story-II'' as a small step to showcase a "silent revolution of empowerment of people'', the I&B minister Manish Tewari dismissed NDA's India Shining campaign as "imaginary.'' Asked about the...

-The Indian Express To reduce poverty, India needs to concentrate on promoting healthcare and education of the poor It is sometimes argued that a country such as India, aiming to eliminate absolute poverty, should only be concerned about economic growth, and not worry about inequality. Is that right? Yes, growth is (typically) good for the poor but it is no less true that inequality is (typically) bad for the poor. There is little...

The declining trend in food price inflation globally may not hold true for inflationary trends faced domestically due to a weakening Indian Rupee vis-a-vis the US Dollar. The recently released FAO Food Price Index (nominal) has shown a declining trend in July for the third consecutive month owing to lower international prices for grains, soy & palm oil, meat, dairy and sugar. (See links below) Based on FAO Food Price...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: With CAG reports on 2G and Coalgate scams hounding the UPA-2 regime, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday said the federal auditor was not equipped to carry out performance evaluation. While the UPA had targeted CAG for "exceeding its jurisdiction" by venturing into policy domain, Ahluwalia took the fight to another level by arguing that the performance audit carried out by the auditor...

-Frontline The midday meal scheme is a grand idea in a flawed school system. "THEY played here, studied here and got buried here!" (Yahin khela, yahin padha aur yahin ho gaya dafan). With these emphatic words, grieving parents buried the bodies of two children within the compound of the Dharmasati Gandaman Primary School of Masharakh block in Saran district of Bihar. This sentiment was expressed with great dignity even in the...