-The Economic Times The austerity measures announced by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee are likely to help the government save between Rs 800 crore and Rs 1,000 crore, said a senior finance ministry official. The government has decided to cut down on foreign travels of ministers and official delegations and has put a ban on creation of plan and non-plan posts The figure is based on preliminary estimates. In addition, the 10% cut...
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Citizens paid Rs 45 crore in bribe in 21 months-Aparajita Ray
Citizens across 483 cities paid as much as Rs 44.77 crore in bribes, to get their land documents, electricity connections, a seat in a preferred college or register their dream home. And all this in just 21 months. Ipaidabribe, the only online forum for citizens to air their grievances when they grease palms, clocked 1 million hits as on May 31, 2012. Needless to say, it is the registration department...
More »Govt checks minority claim of schools as RTE deadline nears-Puja Pednekar
As the June 10 deadline for implementing the 25% quota for students belonging to economically weaker sections draws near, the state has launched checks to verify the minority status of schools. According to the Supreme Court judgment, minority unaided schools will be exempted from implementing the 25% reservation under Right to Education Act. Suspecting that big schools might try to weasel their way out of implementing the provisions of the Right of...
More »Finance ministry for 10% cut in non-plan expenditure
-The Economic Times The finance ministry on Thursday announced a 10% cut in non-plan expenditure in the current fiscal as part of austerity measures aimed at containing its ballooning fiscal deficit. The Centre is aiming to bring down its fiscal deficit to 5.1% of GDP in 2012-13, from 5.76% in the previous fiscal. It also hopes to cut its subsidy bill to below 2% of GDP this year. The ministry has argued that...
More »World Bank gives evidence of corruption in highway projects-Dipak K Dash
The World Bank's allegations of fraud and corrupt practices in highway projects funded by the multilateral agency could just be the tip of the iceberg. The Bank's report has an annexure of "collateral" evidence showing how contractors produced fake invoices and certificates to get advance from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The investigation team of World Bank's Institutional Integrity Unit tracked down three companies supplying aggregates (construction material) in Nepal...
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