A funding crisis has hit the government's efforts to leverage the banking correspondent model to provide banking services to the beneficiaries of its flagship rural employment guarantee scheme. Work has stopped in Orissa, the first state to adopt the model in all districts, after State Bank of India (SBI) refused to bear the cost of this financial inclusion drive for the beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee...

While inflation has been hitting people hard across the country, the rate of price rise has been the most in Kerala, Orissa and Meghalaya, as per government data released today.     In all three states, the consumer price index (CPI) overall stood at 108 in January from a base of 100 in 2010, suggesting inflation of 8 per cent. Incidentally, even richer states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi and Punjab reported a...

A day before the Group of Ministers meeting on environment clearances, the Environment ministry has expressed willingness to increase the coal mining area to 74 % in 28 blocks, which fall in forests, as against 65% earlier. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh is expected to inform the GoM that he was willing to allow coal mining in 28 coal blocks, which fall in 'No-Go' areas by redefining its boundaries. This means that an...

Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has said the State government may push a legislation to regulate lending by microfinance institutions. Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, he pointed out the relevance of the Andhra Pradesh Microfinance Institutions (Regulation of Money Lending) Bill, 2010. “The entry of the Janasree Sustainable Development Mission into the microfinance sector poses a risk. Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy should clarify his stand on the risk...

Poverty forces sex workers to sell their bodies, the Supreme Court said on Monday and directed the Centre and states to impart vocational training to them so that they could earn a livelihood. "A woman is compelled to indulge in prostitution not for pleasure but because of abject poverty. If such a woman is granted opportunity to avail some technical or vocational training, she would be able to earn her livelihood...