The Scheduled Castes and Tribes have been denied over one lakh crore rupees during the Eleventh Plan, says the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights. Uttar Pradesh has been most efficient in the allocation and utilisation of the funds. During the Eleventh Plan period (2007-12), a whopping Rs 1,00,215 crore has been denied to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the Sub-Plans of the Government, according to National Campaign on Dalit...

-The Telegraph The cabinet secretariat has issued a circular instructing all ministries at the Centre to “mandatorily” consult the national commissions for SCs and STs on any policy concerning the two sections. The Centre seems to have woken up to the wanton violation of this rule by its own ministries and the states. The circular, issued on February 16, said: “The ministries/departments are advised to ensure that the National Commission for SCs or...

In the initial months of governance by the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, attempts appear to have been made to begin subverting the positive results of the land reform programme of the Left Front. What is happening appears to be the inevitable outcome of political rivalry, the hegemonic rule of one party giving place to another, with the citadel of power changing its colour, making the “red” one “green”. But...

Muslims, SCs, STs reflect better social indices, closer to national averages Early in the morning, Mohammad Nadeem, a 25-year-old ‘pakka adati’, big wholesaler, at one of Muzaffarnagar’s fruit and vegetable mandis, briskly sets about selling carrots and oranges. As he expertly sifts through sacks of fresh produce, it’s difficult to picture him hawking peanuts by the roadside. But for five years in this bustling western Uttar Pradesh mandi, Nadeem’s store...

-The Times of India   Dalit Venture Capital Fund is the next big idea as the Centre looks to roll out 'procurement quota' in government purchases from small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The Fund would seek to buy equity in Dalit companies to provide capital support as investment. The Centre is mulling creation of a special purpose vehicle or a capital support system to help develop entrepreneurs among scheduled castes and tribes. The...