-The Times of India Crest Cash transfers have been described as the world's favourite new anti-poverty device. As India gets set to implement it, TOI-Crest finds out if the politics will ever be divorced from the cash The UPA government's ambitious plan to introduce direct cash transfers (DCT) by January 1, 2013 reflects both the political desperation of a beleaguered government and the urgent need to reform India's inefficient and corrupt public...

-The Hindu Private companies get loansat 6.5% with additional cash refunds; for farmers it is 7% The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), which is dedicated to promoting rural development by providing soft loans to State governments for social sector projects, has given hundreds of crores as loans to corporates on concessional terms. In the Union Budget of 2011-12, Rs. 18,000 crore was allocated by the Centre to NABARD’s Rural Infrastructure...

-Outlook Don’t blame globalization for inequality – but rather policies hijacked by a few Economic globalization in the sense of expansion of foreign trade and investment is, of course, somewhat anaemic, reflecting the impact of global recession, although still vigorous in the sense of continuous international transmission of technology, information, ideas and social media. But in the world of politics and policymaking a cold wind is blowing, dimming earlier enthusiasm for global...

-The Indian Express Cash transfers seem to be the latest fad. With elections looming, the Prime Minister’s National Committee on Direct Cash Transfers has been tasked with an ambitious mandate to provide vision and direction to enable direct cash transfers of subsidies under various government schemes and programmes to individuals to enhance efficiency. Certain activists warn against an ill-considered and hasty transition from food to cash. Others believe directly transferring the...

-The Times of India PUNE: The much-anticipated extension of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, to the pre-school and secondary education may still take time to come through. The act, which at present covers primary and upper primary schools, provides for free and compulsory education to children between the ages of six and 14 and directs government, aided and non-minority unaided schools to reserve 25% of...