-Business Standard Restricts scope of life insurance cover to bring down burden on the exchequer The government has started applying exclusion principles to its inclusion scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). The life cover of Rs 30,000 announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for all those opening a bank account under the scheme will now exclude many. The finance ministry has put several riders for defining one's eligibility for a life...

-The Indian Express Eight years after the Sachar committee report on the condition of Muslims and creation of a Ministry of Minority Affairs, a post-Sachar evaluation committee, headed by former JNU professor Amitabh Kundu, has concluded that though a start has been made in addressing development deficits of the community, government interventions have not quite matched in scale the large numbers of the marginalised. Poverty levels among Muslims, the committee found, remained...

-The Indian Express India seems relieved, having convinced the United States to advocate on its behalf at the WTO regarding the issues arising from its food security programmes, while food-exporting nations are rejoicing at New Delhi signing on the dotted line without insisting on a reduction of farm support in developed countries. As we defend public procurement and stock holding, they will be looking at opportunities to export to India high-value...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) a flagship programme of his government, BJP-ruled states seem to be lagging behind in linking these accounts with Aadhaar - the first step towards enabling direct benefit transfers. Among the large states which accounted for over 10 lakh Jan Dhan accounts as on November 12, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh top the list,...

-Business Standard Government's financial inclusion mission is well intentioned, but it may be putting a severe strain on the banking sector Sometime in August, a rumour went around a small village near Alwar in Rajasthan and in some other parts of the country: "Sarkar jo kala dhan wapas layegi, woh Jan Dhan yojana ke khaato mein baanta jayega" (When the government brings back black money, it will be distributed among Jan Dhan...