Given a positive regulatory environment, banks and other financial intermediaries will certainly be interested in using the smart card opportunity. Dr Arvind Virmani, with a Ph.D. from Harvard and 30 years of professional experience, is one of the most valued economists in the Government. Before he retired as Chief Economic Advisor in 2009, he had served in the Finance Ministry and the Planning Commission. A researcher par excellence, his research papers...

A few years ago, Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda, had a chance meeting with Som Pal, former member of the Planning Commission and earlier minister of state for agriculture, and was bowled over by his sage-like views on developmental issues. The president promptly invited Som Pal to his blighted country to suggest policy measures to get out of a developmental quagmire. Som Pal travelled to Rwanda; he was hosted at...

Ever wondered what information the vast internet contains about alphonsoes? Not enough juice: just a list of exporters and a scant wiki-page. To fill this gap came agropedia. A content farm, a search engine and an online meeting ground for farmers and agri cultural students, the agropedia is for all those who have a haphazard and fuzzy idea about food. It is also for those who want to make the internet...

“Efforts of Empowered Committee set up to monitor the works ineffective” The third report of the Shunglu Committee on “City Infrastructure,” which has been submitted to the Prime Minister and “is being examined,” has severely indicted the Delhi government for its handling of the works and also noted that the efforts of the Empowered Committee, constituted to overlook them, were also “by and large ineffective.” It said while Rs.254 crore in ‘undue...

Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Laxmi Narain today claimed the state's new rehabilitation policy for land acquisition was "the best" in India. Addressing farmers, the Minister claimed he has studied the land acquisition policies of all states and the new rehabilitation policy in UP was formulated by a committee after scanning and evaluating other states' policies. He said that under the new policy farmers will get one time payment of Rs.1.85...