A year before assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Planning Commission has ranked the state poorly on performance of 12 major flagship schemes of the Central government. The new analysis is likely to provide Congress ammunition against the Mayawati government on UP for not been able to utilize the Central government funds effectively. The new ranking, which is the part of annual state plan report for 2011-12, finds UP at the bottom...

Sections of vendors and “willing” farmers have alleged discrimination over the Singur bill, suggesting that they may move court if the state government does not address their concerns. Vendors demanded that they be compensated for the investment made at the Nano site. But the government, which has specifically said in the bill that “none of the vendors has obtained any deed of lease in terms of their respective letters of allotment”,...

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...

-The Tribune   It appears there are no takers for the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NAREGA) scheme in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh. And the simple reason for this is that workers are getting higher wages at private projects and there is no dearth of such projects in Noida. Under the scheme, over 26,000 job cards were made in Gautam Budh Nagar. Further, bank accounts for 6,367 people...

Roadblocks Ahead     * The MIDC has been winding up its plans to set up SEZs     * As many as 28 SEZ proposals, in the government and private sector, were withdrawn or projects denotified in the last six months     * Farmer protests, land acquisition problems, economic downturn and non-feasible tax regimes are cited as reasons for developers backing out. CM Prithviraj Chavan too exercises great caution. *** Mandated to create industrial opportunities in...