There are structural aspects to a problem as complex as corruption. These cannot be tackled through punishment alone. Just as our society tends to latch on to holy men for miracle cures, in recent weeks, the urban middle classes have placed great hopes on an anti-corruption movement led by a pious man in a Gandhi cap. (The other claim on leadership by a holy man in red robes did not...

In an attempt to bolster its aam aadmi image, the government is setting up the Aajeevika Development and Financial Corporation, a financial institution to ensure easily available funding for self-help groups under the National Rural Livelihood Mission. Problems in accessing credit for families below poverty line have been a major hurdle for the livelihood mission. The rural development ministry is in the process of inter-ministerial consultations on the proposed financial...

-The Hindu   Planning Commission allocation will see significant rise The K. Srinath Reddy Committee of Experts, appointed by the Prime Minister to suggest universal health insurance coverage, is expected to submit its report by month-end, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Friday. At the same time, the Commission would ensure that allocation for the health sector was significantly increased in the 12th Plan, he said. During the 11th Plan, the...

With nearly 800 million people unable to read or write, the United Nations today marked International Literacy Day with a warning that illiteracy undermines efforts to eliminate a host of social ills such as poverty and sickness and threatens the very stability of nations. “The costs are enormous,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message. “Illiteracy exacerbates cycles of poverty, ill-health and deprivation. It weakens communities and undermines democratic processes through...

A report from a sample survey of the functioning of the public distribution system in 12 villages in two districts in Orissa, a state usually associated with a poor PDS. While there are errors in exclusion and inclusion of households covered, there has been a vast improvement in operation of the PDS; below the poverty line households seem to be receiving their entitlements. The households also express a strong preference...