Confusion continues to reign in the debate on microfinance that has unfolded following the promulgation of the Andhra ordinance, soon to be replaced by Andhra Pradesh Micro Finance Institutions (Regulation of Money Lending) Act, 2010. A key confusion has been that microfinance is a major instrument of poverty alleviation. Going by the available scientific evidence and agreement among scholars, to-date, there exists no compelling study linking the expansion of microfinance to...
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Of luxury cars and lowly tractors by P Sainath
Even as the media celebrate the Mercedes Benz deal in the Marathwada region as a sign of “rural resurgence,” the latest data show that 17,368 farmers killed themselves in the year of the “resurgence.” When businessmen from Aurangabad in the backward Marathwada region bought 150 Mercedes Benz luxury cars worth Rs. 65 crore at one go in October, it grabbed media attention. The top public sector bank, State Bank of India,...
More »Plan to link NREGA wages to inflation hits CP Joshi wall by Priyadarshi Siddhanta
Rural Development Minister CP Joshi has refused to move on a proposal by the Planning Commission to link wages under the national job guarantee scheme to the consumer price index. In fact, the Plan panel’s proposal was echoed by the National Advisory Council chaired by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.In a presentation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently, the Planning Commission made a strong case for aligning the wage levels to...
More »Maharashtra moots PDS at the door-step by Rahul Wadke
Large queues outside the ration shop across Maharashtra could become a thing of the past, if the State Government manages to implement a new scheme for distributing foodgrains in the vicinity of people's houses. Under the scheme, the two-and-a-half crore ration card holders registered under the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the State, instead of getting a monthly quota of grains from the ration shop, will get three, six or 12...
More »The great onion robbery: 135% mark-up from mandi to retail by Subodh Varma
Speculative traders are making super-profits by fixing prices in the onion trade while the government is playing around with ad hoc fixes. On Tuesday alone, wholesale traders in Delhi bought onions at about Rs 34 per kg while it was sold in retail at Rs 80 per kg. That's a margin of Rs 46 per kg or 135%! About 11,445 quintals of onion were bought in the Delhi wholesale markets on...
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