-The Hindu PM’s statement that seven States are naxal-affected is at variance with Home Ministry’s figure How many States are affected by left-wing extremism? The answer could vary, if one is to go by official statements made at different times. Addressing the annual conference of the DGPs/IGPs in Delhi on Saturday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said seven States were affected. He spoke about the “ability of left-wing extremists in increasing their numbers and...
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PM's Assets Around Rs 10.73Cr, Colleagues Richer
-Outlook Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assets worth around Rs 10.73 crore, double that of last year, but a number of his cabinet colleagues are much richer than him. Among the richer cabinet ministers are Praful Patel with assets of approximately Rs 52 crore, Sharad Pawar with property worth around Rs 22 crore and M K Azagiri with Rs 9.50 crore, according to updated list of assets of the ministers posted on...
More »Heard of the ‘Bangladesh shining’ story?-Jairam Ramesh, Varad Pande & Pranjul Bhandari
-The Hindu The country has shown that it is possible to have superior social outcomes at lower per capita incomes and rates of economic growth Bangladesh is very much in the news these days in our country, but for the wrong reasons. In the unfortunate Bangladesh-bashing that seems to have become somewhat of a pastime, we seem to have failed to notice the striking developmental success that it has had in the...
More »Centre for easy credit to rural population-Urmi Goswami
-The Economic Times The Centre plans to make bank creditaccess easier for rural population, especially in states were poverty is high. In Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, the gap between credit available to self help groups and the demand for credit is stark. At present, 80 per cent of all bank support to SHGs is in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. In Uttar Pradesh, Madhya...
More »A Bill that asks too much of the poor-Jean Drèze & Reetika Khera
-The Hindu Instead of rigid targeting, the government must build on the success of the public distribution system which is quietly becoming a significant means of social support In earlier writings, we have drawn attention to the quiet revival of the public distribution system (PDS) in many States during the last few years. Market prices of PDS commodities — mainly rice and wheat — have sharply increased, giving people a much greater...
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