Last week's column, “The plight of Dalits and the news media” (October 25, 2010), has generated a lively and interesting response from several readers. The column was about the prioritisation of the tasks before the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes (NCSC) by its new Chairman, P.L. Punia (not P.J. Punia as erroneously mentioned in the column.) The concern of most who wrote was over the failure of successive governments...

A three-member team of experts, headed by economist Bibek Debroy, began its job of mapping a growth path of politically unstable Jharkhand today by meeting chief minister Arjun Munda and discussing the contours of a state development report. Working on a three-month time frame, Debroy, who was approached by Munda to take up the assignment, said his meeting with the chief minister was productive. “He has given us some thoughts to work...

The new consumer price indices set to debut in January will be compilations of indices for states that reflect the price trends prevailing in the country accurately, helping policy formulation and targeted intervention. Each state will have two consumer price indices, one for rural and another for urban areas. These CPI rural and urban will be added up to arrive at urban and rural retail indices at the national level. These...

Denmark (Rank 1) Denmark along with two other countries have been ranked as the world's least corrupt countries. With a score of 9.3, Denmark has consistently topped the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. The country has a strong tradition of openness to global trade and investment, and transparent and efficient regulations are applied evenly in most cases. Denmark also boasts an efficient, independent judiciary that protects property rights, and the level of corruption is...

Farmers who grow the well-known Bhalia wheat variety in the southern Ahmedabad district are getting ready to resist plans for a chemical park in their premises — a project they had fended off 13 years ago. A public hearing for the Bhal Industrial Park, slated to house 500 chemical units among a total 712 units, will be held on Friday. Kantri Makwana, a farmer from Pishavada, a village which falls within a...