The government has set the ball rolling for estimating black money by signing agreements with three leading think-tanks NCAER, NIFM and NIPFP to conduct study on unaccounted income generated inside and outside the country. They have been given 18 months to complete the study and also suggest administrative and legal measures to prevent generation of black money, according to sources. The first study on unaccounted money was conducted by NIPFP way back...

Kerala and Tamil Nadu with the lowest calorie consumption seem to show better health outcome indicators This report, a joint initiative by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation — an institution with a remarkable long term commitment to issues related to food security — and the United Nations World Food Programme, should serve as an excellent hand book on urban food insecurity. Aside from providing all the relevant information in a consolidated...

Food inflation snapped a three-week easing trend in mid-March and fuel inflation remained at elevated levels, keeping pressure on the Reserve Bank to rein in broader inflation. The food price index rose an annual 10.05% in the week to March 12, higher than a 9.42% rise in the previous week as prices of potatoes and vegetables rose, data released on Thursday showed. The fuel price index climbed 12.79% in the same week,...

Budget 2011-12 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. THREE decades ago, in the early years of the Special Component Plan (SCP) for Scheduled Castes – very recently renamed inappropriately as Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) – Indira Gandhi on her return as Prime Minister wrote two historical D.O. letters dated March 12, 1980, one to Central Ministers and the other to State Chief Ministers, regarding the SCP in the Central...

Judicial review of executive action is not unique, but the remedy in the CVC case is a departure from the court's record of approach to corruption. THE Supreme Court's decision to declare the appointment of Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) P.J. Thomas as non-existent in law has stimulated much debate. The political fallout of the ruling has been widely studied, with pundits pondering over how seriously it may impact the Prime Minister's...