Banks have designated red zones where the vast majority of Muslim clusters fall. This fact is confirmed by the rash of banking-related complaints received by the National Commission for Minorities. A little over a year ago, Ali Arshad, a resident of Okhla in Delhi, went to a well-known private sector bank to open a Bank Account. He thought his case would be fast-tracked because he had a banking background, he worked...

Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) plan to pay rural job scheme wages by putting to use the unique ID number will have its pilot run in five blocks of Jharkhand within a week. At a meeting today chaired by chief secretary A.K. Singh and attended by UIDAI director-general Ram Sevak Sharma, around a dozen blocks were discussed. It was then decided to choose five of these blocks in...

Acting with determination and firm action, it should be possible for India to step up its agricultural growth rate to 10 per cent. The 11th Five Year Plan seeks to achieve 4 per cent growth rate in agriculture by the end of the Plan period. The Planning Commission is working towards an overall 9 per cent to 10 per cent growth rate. But the target of 4 per cent growth rate is...

State-owned banks in India have been accused of discriminating against the country's Muslim minority. India's minorities watchdog has received a record number of complaints from Muslims who say they have been prevented from opening Bank Accounts. India's Muslim community is among the poorest in the country. Some bankers say it is not so much their religious background, but their economic status that makes it hard for Muslims to get banking facilities. The National Commission...

The only programme the UPA government has to provide pensions to BPL individuals is plagued by mismanagement, delays in disbursement and underutilised funds. The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), allocated Rs 5,700 crore every year, covers five major schemes—the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS), the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme, the National Family Benefit Scheme and the Annapurna...