-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Closer to elections, Nitish Kumar's JD (U) government in Bihar seems to be on a slide with the state's GDP growth tumbling down - from a high of 15.05% in 2012-13 to an estimated 8.82% in 2013-14. Incidentally, the ebbing of growth coincides with the split in the JD(U)-BJP alliance. Nitish had called off the alliance with the BJP in mid-June last year when the...

-The Financial Express The Indian success story increasingly looks like a tale of naivety and optimistic complacency. The Indian success story increasingly looks like a tale of naivety and optimistic complacency, with the fantasy of ‘India Shining' obfuscating the reality of widespread deprivation. Despite rapid economic growth during the past decade, millions continue to live in poverty and hunger. The Indian government aims to address abject hunger and malnutrition with the National Food...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The rules for price caps on 348 medicines imposed by the central government last year provide drug companies "escape routes" and promise little relief to consumers, a report released today has warned. The report from the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), an academic institution, has also cautioned that the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) rules will encourage the growth of irrational combinations of drugs that remain outside...

-The Hindu     Nearly three years after the government began experimenting with Aadhaar-based payments in Jharkhand, it has not been able to start disbursing payments to beneficiaries at their doorstep Jharkhand was one of five pilot States chosen for an Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS). Beginning with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) payments in select blocks in four districts in 2012, AEPS added pension and scholarship schemes and the Janani Suraksha...

-The Telegraph Rohtas: The Kaimur plateau, once an arms training centre for Maoist cadres, is turning out to be a hub of medicinal plants. Thanks to Ritesh Kumar Pandey, a progressive farmer, the plateau has turned from "red to green". Cultivation of medicinal plants such as ghreet kumari (aloe vera), ashwagandha (withania somnifera) and shatavar or satavari (asparagus recemosus) on the water-starved land has created a buzz among the residents of Maoist-hit districts...