Sample some data on the microfinance performance in India: According to the data provided by www.mixmarket.org, microfinance in India reached close to 270 lakh active borrowers in 2009, with the average loan size close to Rs 8,000. This translates into total borrowing to over Rs 20,000 crore. Though this number seems large, it represents only 0.3% of our GDP. Thus, large swathes of poor, both in our villages and urban...

Several newspapers and TV channels, some of them among India’s biggest, have claimed credit for exposing the Adarsh society scam in which the who’s who of India’s defense and political establishment are involved. The scam exposes the nexus between bureaucrats, politicians and UNSCrupulous defense service officers. Obviously it wouldn’t be anyone’s ‘exclusive’ if so many newspapers and channels broke the news. Or else there would be one journalist who reported...

Despite various programmes initiated by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to improve the status of agriculture, famers' leaders strongly feel that not enough has been done and large numbers of farmers remain heavily in debt. 'Various flagship programmes by the UPA government, which started after 2004, have not proved helpful for farmers. Their economic policies are putting an adverse impact on agriculture sector but still nobody is bothered about it,'...

KEY TRENDS   • Maternal Mortality Ratio for India was 370 in 2000, 286 in 2005, 210 in 2010, 158 in 2015 and 145 in 2017. Therefore, the MMRatio for the country decreased by almost 61 percent between 2000 and 2017 *14    • As per the NSS 71st round, among rural females aged 5-29 years, the main reasons for dropping out/ discontinuance were: engagement in domestic activities, not interested in education, financial constraints and marriage. Among rural males aged...

Over 60 villages of the district have been flooded with the Yamuna waters after 3.46 lakh cusecs (over the flood level) were released from the Hathnikund barrage this morning. The barrage in Chhachhrauli is about 45 km from here. Water has entered residential areas of at least 22 villages located in low-lying areas while agricultural land in over 48 villages has been submerged after the embankments of the Yamuna were washed...