Here is a background on the 2G spectrum controversy that resulted in Communications and IT Minister A. Raja of DMK resigning on Sunday: The issue dates to 2008 when nine telecom companies were issued scarce airwaves and licenses for second generation (2G) mobile phone services at Rs1,658 crore (less that $350 million) for a pan-India operation. As many as 122 circle-wise licenses were issued. The opposition said that by giving the airwaves...

Launched 20 years ago with the simple line that "people are the real wealth of a nation", the United Nations' Human Development Report has become the most trusted annual indicator of progress in developing nations. The 20th anniversary report charts progress going back 20 years before that first publication - so it is an ambitious attempt to chart development achievements - or not - going back 40 years. The UN Development Programme's...

India's telecommunications minister A Raja has resigned over claims that licences had been improperly given to mobile phone firms. He said he was quitting "to avoid embarrassment to the government". He denies wrongdoing. Opposition has been protesting over Mr Raja's alleged role in the sale of second generation (2G) licences. Federal auditors reportedly estimate that billions of dollars were lost as a result. Mr Raja - who belongs to the DMK party, an ally...

India's telecommunications minister has rejected calls that he resign over claims that licences were improperly allocated to mobile phone firms. Opposition anger over A Raja's alleged role in the sale of second generation (2G) licences has been growing. Mr Raja's ministry issued licences on a "first-come first-served" basis instead of auctioning them, reports say. Federal auditors reportedly estimate billions of dollars were lost as a result. Mr Raja denies any wrongdoing. In May, India's...

The microfinance bubble has burst. The AP government ordinance, the AP oppositionfs campaign asking borrowers not to repay and the sheer public hostility towards MFIs . all these have put the brakes on MFI activities for now. We need to rethink the role of MFIs in the rural economy . In order to do so, we must first grasp some of the myths on which the MFI sector has rested...