-The United Nations Without fresh ideas to address rapid urbanization, the number of people living in slums lacking access to basic infrastructure and services such as sanitation, electricity, and health care may skyrocket from one billion at present to three billion by 2050, the United Nations today reported. That wake up call is one of several alarm bells sounded in the UN World Economic and Social Survey 2013, which was launched today...

-The Hindustan Times The recent release of The Lancet's special edition on Maternal and Child Nutrition in Delhi provided an occasion to debate the relevance of its recommendations for India. The discourse was enlivened by a statement, released ahead of the event by several Indian health experts, challenging the content and intent of some of the suggested interventions. Three authors of The Lancet series and many of the critics who issued that statement...

-The Hindu Indentured labour may be a forgotten part of our colonial economic history but Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh are still sending ‘Girmitya' to toil in distant lands The descendants of indentured labourers, who migrated from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to erstwhile colonies, recently met at The Hague in the Netherlands to commemorate 140 years of migration - perpetuated through a system popularly known as ‘Girmit.' They gathered from all...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Before populism spikes in the run-up to the general elections, the Planning Commission has cautioned states against doling out freebies such as free laptops, tablets, and mobiles in the name of development spending and instead asked them to focus on schemes related to infrastructure development. "This year's message is basically that states must have much more efficient functioning of the inclusiveness scheme. Since a lot of the...

-ANI Ahluwalia appreciated the State Government for strategy to make growth more inclusive and giving right priority to social sector The Planning Commission has approved an annual plan outlay of Rs 47,000 crore for Karnataka for the year 2013-14. The plan size was finalized in a meeting between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here last evening. The plan size has been agreed at Rs. 47,000 crore...