-PTI Observing that poverty, deprivation and destitution are Observing that poverty, deprivation and destitution are a reality in India, Ramesh has said the controversy over the Planning Commission pegging the poverty line at Rs 28.65 daily per capita consumption for cities and Rs 22.42 in rural areas started as it did not concentrate on the automatic exclusion of the beneficiaries. The Minister said that India has been a pioneer in poverty measurement...

-The Hindu “We are the only country where vested interests want to keep the figures high” Even as the Centre is trying to find a face-saving solution to the issue of embarrassing poverty estimates put out by the Planning Commission, Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on Sunday wondered why people were picking holes instead of celebrating the fact that the number of people living below the poverty line had come...

-PTI The poverty level in Sikkim has gone down with 80,000 people now living below poverty line, according to the new official estimates for 2009-2010 released by the Planning Commission. While in 2004-2005, poverty level in Sikkim stood at 30.9 per cent with 1,70,000 people living under BPL, in the wake of the intense poverty alleviation programme initiated by the government, it has been significantly reduced in both urban and rural areas,...

-Rediff.com Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju on Saturday said anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare lacks the scientific ideas that are needed to solve the problem of graft. The PCI chairman also took a dig at the media for "hyping" up issues such as the 100th century of Sachin Tendulkar, retirement of Rahul Dravid, pregnancy of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and death of film star Dev Anand. "This Anna Hazare movement, I have not spoken...

But will it reflect true level of poverty in the country? India's poverty line has hit the headlines again. In the past six months this is for the second time that the government has tried to bring out a poverty line. Like the poverty line in September last year, the new poverty line has also triggered widespread dissent and debate. In an action replay, this time also the government almost junked...