-Outlook Aam Admi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal today persisted with his attack on Delhi government for the second successive day, accusing it of irregularities in Delhi Jal Board and effecting 18-fold hike in the water tariff in last nine years. "Our water bill, which was Rs 74 nine years ago has swollen to Rs 1,375, which is an 18-fold growth. This is due to corruption in water distribution system under which a...

-Outlook UPA’s populist trumpcard of 2008—the farm loan waiver—has fallen short of its intended target, as a CAG audit throws up The Scheme     2008 Union finance minister P. Chidambaram announces farmer debt waiver and relief scheme in budget; PM Manmohan Singh writes to beneficiaries “seeking their support”     Rs 52,275 cr Total money that was disbursed to eligible farmers across the nation as part of loan waiver scheme     Rs 50,000 The loan...

-Outlook Hapur: Its benefit to farmers was well touted. The reality of the loan waiver is less creditable. In the early hours of a foggy morning in the sugarcane belt of western Uttar Pradesh, produce-laden bullock carts move about in Rasoolpur village, Hapur district, about 50 km from Delhi. As good a spot as any to gauge the impact of the ambitious loan waiver scheme for farmers announced by the UPA-I...

-The Hindu Unless the government regulates the growth of the private sector and makes it accountable, the worn-down public health infrastructure cannot be revitalised The absence of a well thought out policy framework for strengthening the health system is the most important issue facing the health sector in India. In the government, there is no clarity on what the nation’s health system should be 10 years hence. Should it be a public...

-The Hindu The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), whose funding of corporate warehousing projects on terms far softer than those offered to poor and often suicidal farmers was highlighted by The Hindu last month, has withdrawn its controversial scheme with retrospective effect under pressure from the Reserve Bank of India. The minutes of a meeting of the sub-committee of the NABARD Board held last month confirm that the RBI...