-Live Mint Panel to review Sachar committee proposals says conditions of Muslims not changed perceptibly since 2006 New Delhi: In a politically uncomfortable revelation ahead of the general election, the interim report of a high-level panel says that a determined policy thrust by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has done little to improve the social and economic enfranchisement of India's Muslim minority. The interim report of the panel appointed by...

-The Hindustan Times As parties gear up for polls, India's two most talked about non-Congress ruled states - Gujarat and Bihar - have been rated as having lesser spending inequality as compared to most other states of the country. A new government study ranks Gujarat as the state having least inequality in urban areas except four north-eastern states of Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram. For rural areas, Bihar earns the top slot...

-Outlook As subsidies for the poor continue to be under attack, a ground-up report from 10-states shows how well welfare schemes have worked over the last 10 years. Ahead of Elections 2014, rights-based welfare schemes are under attack. To those who argue ‘Dolenomics' doesn't work, a survey of five schemes in 10 states shows that the Rs 1,68,478 crore annually the nation spends is making a real and tangible difference on...

-The Hindu Restricting the price subsidy to coarse grains alone will not only work better from both fiscal and equity points of view but also weaken the incentives for graft The National Food Security Act (NFSA), passed recently by Parliament, offers 5 kg per person a month of cereals at highly subsidised prices to more than the bottom two-thirds of the population. It has been rightly hailed as the largest welfare programme...

-Live Mint India Philanthropy Report 2014 by Bain and Dasra says lack of funds will lead to more deaths of children Mumbai: India's child mortality rate may worsen despite the government's efforts to lower it because of a dearth of funding, according to the India Philanthropy Report 2014 by business consulting company Bain and Co. and Dasra, a philanthropic foundation, to be released on Friday. The lack of a comprehensive ecosystem of...