The ministry of personnel has shown a surprising lack of alacrity in prosecuting errant babus In August last year, Prime Minister manmohan singh was keynote speaker at the annual meeting of India’s premier anti-corruption agency, the CBI. There, addressing officers of the agency and state vigilance bureaus, he made a telling remark, “Our anti-corruption agencies must make the cost of corruption unacceptably high for those indulging in this evil practice.” The prime...

A Planning Commission evaluation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has questioned the effectiveness of projects implemented under the Act in boosting productivity and creating assets. NREGA, the Union government’s flagship anti-poverty programme that promises 100 days of employment every year to the rural poor, is partly credited with driving the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to victory in the April-May general election. In a presentation made at Prime Minister...

Top priority should be given to farmers’ and farm-related issues Collectors told to monitor the progress of welfare schemes Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah has set a six-point agenda for Collectors to provide good governance and to gear up the official machinery for effectively implementing welfare/development programmes in Andhra Pradesh. During an informal meeting with Chief Secretary S. V. Prasad and CMO officials on Sunday ahead of two-day Collectors’ conference, scheduled from...

Hit by soaring food inflation, the government moved into urgent damage control mode on Wednesday, with Prime Minister manmohan singh stepping into the frame and deciding to meet chief ministers to urge stronger anti-hoarding measures and improved lifting and distribution of foodgrains. The Centre plans to quickly release 2-3 million tonnes of wheat and rice in the retail market, using its own agencies like NAFED and NCCF besides PDS outlets....

Prime Minister Dr manmohan singh will chair the Cabinet Committee on Prices (CCP) meeting that will be held on Wednesday to discuss the issue of spiraling food prices, including sugar prices. manmohan singh is expected to take decisions on increasing the availability of sugar and other commodities, to contain food inflation. Food inflation had soared to 20 percent since the first week of December. The meeting was earlier scheduled to...