-PTI HYDERABAD: A day after the Chief Minister remarked that observations of CAG were "not scriptures", the public auditor picked many holes in Andhra Pradesh government's budgeting process and financial management even as it praised the state for achieving fiscal reform targets. In its report on the state finances for 2011-12, the CAG rapped the government for failing to ensure proper utilisation of allotted funds, particularly on capital works, resulting in staggering...

-The Business Standard Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi professor and development economist Reetika Khera tells Sreelatha Menon that the food Bill may not be a leap ahead, but it is certainly a step forward * The food Bill is a guarantee for lifelong dependence on government doles. As an economist, can one defend such a policy? The food Bill should be seen as an investment. "Labour" is India's most important asset. In that sense,...

-The Business Standard The various grants under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan don't reach all schools - and not on time, either Educational spending is soaring. At the turn of the decade, new legislation has been enacted to make education a fundamental right. But India's elementary schoolchildren are just not learning. The country's elementary education budget has more than doubled since 2007-08, from Rs 68,853 crore to Rs 147,059 crore this fiscal, but the...

-India Today A day before the city government is due to present its crucial Budget, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday promised to provide ample employment opportunities and other facilities to Delhiites . The CM also refuted allegations of the government being 'insensitive' and reminded that a dedicated helpline number for women in distress had been set up. Presenting the economic survey in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday, Dikshit said the city...

-The United Nations The rapid growth of developing countries is propelling millions out of poverty on an unprecedented scale and radically reshaping the global system, according to a flagship United Nations report launched today. “The rise of the South is unprecedented in its speed and scale,” says the Human Development Report 2013, which uses the term “South” to mean developing countries and “North” to mean developed nations. “Never in history have the...