The total expenditure on central schemes for the poor and on the major subsidies exceeds the states' share of central taxes. These schemes are chronic bad performers due to a culture of immunity in public administration and weakened local governments. Arguing that the poor should be trusted to use these resources better than the state, a radical redirection with substantial direct transfers to individuals and complementary decentralisation to local governments...
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For profit, not people-Sitaram Yechury
-The Hindustan Times With UPA 2 having carried the day on the motions disapproving foreign direct investment (FDI) in India’s multi-brand retail trade sector, the crescendo for a fresh round of GenNext reforms has reached a higher pitch. The editorial in this newspaper titled The slog overs have begun (Our Take, December 10) states, “Now that FDI in retail is through, the UPA must push ahead with other reforms.” The Congress-led coalitions...
More »Nuclear safety before vendor interests-MV Ramana and Suvrat Raju
-The Hindu The question that must be asked, is whether India is willing to compromise on its laws and the safety and rights of its citizens to protect the business interests of reactor suppliers In 2010, under pressure from multinational nuclear suppliers, the Manmohan Singh government pushed through a law to protect them from the consequences of a nuclear accident. The law makes it impossible for victims to sue the supplier, even...
More »Amartya Sen, Nobel laureate interviewed by Sagarika Ghose
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen believes that Team Anna's reading of corruption or what causes corruption or how it can removed is wrong, and that they need to look at how the economic system operates. In an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN Deputy Editor Sagarika Ghose, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said that instead of fasting and protesting, one should try and change the systems that provided incentives for corruption. Below is the transcript of...
More »Farmers increasingly using weather insurance to mitigate risks from climate change-Rituraj Tiwari
-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: More farmers are using weather insurance to mitigate risks from climate change. Top two weather insurers -- Agricultural Insurance Corporation (AIC) and ICICI Lombard -- say business is growing at 25% annually and now covers more than 200 districts across 21 states. "The growth has been so spectacular over the past five years that as many as 12 million farmers, growing crops on over 15 million hectares...
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