-The Economic Times The government will roll out a United Nations-assisted livelihood security programme in 10 Naxal-infested districts in a bid to tackle the growing influence of Maoist rebels. The rural development ministry, which has been spearheading the developmental approach to this Left-wing menace, has in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme worked out a five-year plan to make markets work for the poor, ensure that state governments are more responsive...

-The Indian Express The UPA has long been planning a shift to direct cash transfers for poor households, with a view to replacing the 3.23 lakh crore worth of unwieldy subsidies currently in place. Last year, the then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had spoken of the famously inefficient food and fertiliser subsidies, and of a comprehensive overhaul through cash transfers. Now, that plan has been fleshed out further. The prime minister...

-The Indian Express As the 2015 target for achieving millennium development Goals adopted in 1990 approaches, the time has come to take stock of various countries’ performances and identify areas that need more attention. The Unicef recently released a report which categorically stated that India will not be able to achieve the Goal of an under-five mortality rate (U5MR) of 42 by 2015. The report further stated that only six of...

-The Economic Times The appointment of the third education commission headed by leading sociologist Andre Beiteille to undertake a major policy review appears to be held up after the Prime Minister's Office raised concerns over including a naturalised US citizen as a member. The human resource development ministry had named Pranab Bardhan, a professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley, as a member of the commission. Bardhan is a...

-The Times of India India won't enhance its pledge of reducing emissions intensity of its economy at the Doha round of climate talks, which will be held between November 26 and December 7. The Cabinet on Thursday cleared the red-lines for Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan and her team of negotiators for the UN talks. With the European Union (EU) shifting the Goal post yet again for ratifying the Kyoto Protocol's second phase...