-The Business Standard   The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has recorded a 40 per cent growth in agriculture credit and rural development in Karnataka during 2011-12. It has extended farm credit of Rs 6,053 crore during the year. While the production credit refinance extended to cooperative banks and regional rural banks (RRBs) was Rs 3,775 crore, its finance to state government under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF)...

-The Economic Times   At a time when the highway sector is showing signs of revival, a fresh controversy has come to haunt the road transport and highways ministry, with World Bank demanding a probe into "fraudulent and corrupt" practices by Indian contractors working on highway projects funded by the Bank. World Bank's Institutional Integrity Unit has sent a detailed report to the Department of Economic Affairs under the finance ministry, which has...

Move could save banks significant money spent on record-checking and documentation In what could usher in an era of paper-less, real-time authentication, the finance ministry is looking into allowing online Aadhaar authentication as a valid proof of identity for opening bank accounts. The ministry is considering an amendment to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA, to recognize online Aadhaar data to satisfy know-your-customer (KYC) requirements. This will pave the way for...

-The Hindu   “Heart of policy is that government believes people should pay tax somewhere” Even as Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee faces flak from corporates at home and abroad on his budget proposal to tax Vodafone-type deals through retrospective amendment, World Bank president Robert Zoellick sought to side with the government saying India wanted the company to pay tax at some place. He also reasoned that investors must give some time to the government...

-The Times of India   In a bid to induce a fresh life into the ailing health services delivery system in Uttar Pradesh, the World Bank has signed a $152 million deal with the Central and UP governments. The funds will be used to finance the government's efforts to improve the efficiency, quality, and accountability of health services in the state. The project, called the Uttar Pradesh Health Systems Strengthening Project (UPHSSP) for...