Rural people have driven India's record decline of 7.4 percentage points in the number of poor since economic reforms were initiated in the early 1990s. The latest poverty estimates by the Planning Commission show that 29.8% or 360 million Indians were poor in 2009-10 as compared to 37.2% or 400 million in 2004-05 — the difference being equal to the population of countries such as Spain, Argentina and Canada. The plan...

-Rediff.com Opposition parties on Tuesday raised the issue of Planning Commission reducing the number of people living below the poverty line dubbing it as a ploy to deceive the poor. Soon after the Rajya Sabha met for the day, members from Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal-United, Bahujan Samaj Party, All India Anna Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam and the Left parties were on their feet seeking a discussion on the issue. Chairman Hamid Ansari said...

At a time when economic wisdom is seen as lying in allowing unrestrained play of economic power and cutting social sector spending, here is a report emphasising the economic sense in addressing hunger, especially child malnutrition. It also brings out the positive impact of employment guarantee scheme, which has been a thrust area of the UPA government but has seen a cut in allocation in Budget proposals for 2012-13. The report...

-Reuters   Cheap generic drugs were meant to change the life of Nandakhu Nissar, whose mouth is swollen by a cancerous tumour. But the cashless and hungry 55-year-old sleeps on a pavement staring up at the windows of Mumbai's biggest cancer hospital.  "What is a generic drug?" shrugs Nissar, who has travelled over 1,500 kms (900 miles) from his home in the hope of treatment. "I have borrowed money from friends and relatives...

-The Times of India  Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has been slapped with a privilege notice for calling legislators ``rapists, murderers and looters'' during an election rally in Uttar Pradesh on February 25. The notice has been served by Congress MP Sajjan Singh Verma from Madhya Pradesh.  The Lok Sabha secretariat has sought reply from Kejriwal. This will be the second time Kejriwal has been served a privilege notice in the past...