-The Financial Express Food minister KV Thomas’ proposal of giving grain as part payment of wages under the MGNREGA stands to undo most of the progress the government has made in trying to curb leakages in distribution of subsidies. While close to half of food to be given through ration shops is believed to be making its way to the open market, the UIDAI-based system’s attempt is to give cash grants...

Central bank sold its majority stake in Oct 2010; change will ensure entire equity  is held by the govt The government will amend a law governing the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) to allow the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to sell its 1% stake in the development lender. The central bank sold its majority stake in the lender to the government in October 2010. The government owns 99%...

-AFP The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Monday urged regional governments to tackle rising income inequality with more urgency, warning any delay could undermine social cohesion and economic growth. Rajat Nag, ADB's managing director-general, said failing to address the problem now could spark further dissatisfaction and lead governments to resort to populist measures to appease their citizens. But populist measures like fuel subsidies and cash grants are taxing on state coffers and could result...

-The Times of India Karnataka, reeling under severe drought, has received a body blow: the Centre has withheld its next instalment of grant to a rural job scheme citing five shortcomings in its implementation in the state. "The release of the next instalment of the central share (for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) to the state depends very crucially on how it is able to spend the funds...

That this is the first time a compulsory licence has been granted in India is in itself important. INDIA'S long struggle to ensure access to affordable medicines for its people recently took a positive and interesting turn. In early March, just before he demitted office, Controller General of Patents P.H. Kurian passed an order on an application filed by Natco Pharma, headquartered in Hyderabad, requesting a licence to produce an anti-cancer...