Australian Sports Minister Mark Arbib Wednesday launched a Rs.200 million (Aus$5 million) five-year programme aimed at developing sports facilities at the grassroots for the disadvantaged in India. 'Sports is much more than winning. Its the joy and happiness on the childrens' faces while playing which is the actual winning. Giving opportunities to play to the disadvantaged will help in building self-esteem, confidence and resilience,' said Arbib, who is here for the...

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Friday announced that the state government would allow 2.5 floor space index (FSI) for the housing schemes in the city for the urban poor. The schemes would be planned by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). “There had been a demand for additional FSI for housing schemes of MHADA in Pune so that more houses could be made available to the poor. The houses...

Considerable sections of the urban population may face serious food insecurity even while the urban economy grows. There is a need for urgent action on this front. Over the two decades of rapid growth of the Indian economy, the urban economy is generally perceived as having done very well. However, high urban economic growth need not by itself imply improved living standards for all urban residents. In particular, the recent and...

Most discussions on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) have focused on one of few things, the leakages in the implementation of the scheme, the inadequate number of jobs created, and some even talk of how NREGA has resulted in food inflation going up in various districts as well as increasing mechanisation due to unavailability of farm labour. It is, of course, true that you can’t have food inflation...

The India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) alliance have been honoured with the 2010 UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) award for their efforts in the fight against poverty. The award recognized India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA Fund) for their hard work in using innovative approaches to share, replicate and scale up successful development experiences for combating poverty and hunger in other parts of the...