Whether it is in education, health or jobs, there are enormous differences in outcomes in modern India, so much so that it often seems like two countries exist within one. Economic opportunities have undoubtedly expanded for a section of India's population, but there are serious obstacles in the path of many. Nobel laureate and development economist Amartya Sen has written about the 'conversion handicap' which, quite separately from an 'earnings...

Rise to the occasion, PM tells Railways Ministry yet to finalise Food Security Bill draft Poor storage and movement of foodgrains are a matter of worry for the second consecutive year to the UPA government. Procurement during the current rabi marketing season has already exceeded last year's level. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution is bothered about the likely scenario of destruction of procured foodgrains during what is being described...

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said oil ministry and its regulatory arm for oil hunting companies, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, showed favour to at least three explorers. The draft report, which is awaiting oil ministry's comments, has said that the ministry and DGH allowed Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd to violate terms of the contract with the government for its showcase Andhra offshore fields and increase its capital expenditure...

Obituaries for the PDS system are a bit premature, based as they are on outdated data and presumptions. Despite flaws like pilfering and leakages, the system shows signs of improvement in certain states. States have demonstrated the political will to invest in the PDS, by putting in state resources to make it work. Cash transfers (CTs) are increasingly advocated as an alternative to the Public Distribution System (PDS). The proponents of...

-DNA   Following reports of a three-year-old receiving remuneration in Kutch under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the central government will probe into corruption in implementation of the Act in Gujarat. This was informed by Union minister for rural development and panchayati raj, Vilasrao Deshmukh on Sunday. Deshmukh also threatened to cut short Union government's fund if the state government fails to take appropriate action to stem the...