-PTI   Yoga guru Ramdev, who is on an indefinite hunger strike against black money and corruption, today made public details of his business empire worth over Rs 1,100 crore, claiming everything was in order. On his sixth day of fast, Ramdev addressed a press conference here during which his close aide Balakrishna said that the capital involving the four trusts run by him totalled Rs 426.19 crore while the expenditure incurred...

-The Hindu   Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, on behalf of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has written to Union Ministers reminding them of the mandatory annual disclosure of assets and liabilities in accordance with the ‘Code of Conduct for Ministers.' Under the code, Ministers have to declare every financial year the list of their assets and liabilities, including that of family members. The details pertaining to the Financial Year 2010-11 are uploaded on...

-PTI   A desperate government's efforts failed today to achieve any breakthrough with Baba Ramdev deciding to go ahead with his indefinite fast here from tomorrow amidst indications that a compromise was likely in a day or two. For nearly five hours, two senior union ministers Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahay negotiated with the yoga guru over his demands on eradication of corruption at a posh hotel, a venue totally different...

The Union government will set up an independent financial institution to give funds for effective functioning of the self-help groups (SHGs) and better empowerment of the rural poor. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi announced this while launching the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), which will be funded through financial institutions. As of now, banks will be mobilised to extend loans to the tune of Rs. 6,800 crore this year at subsidised rates...

The current perception that cash transfers can replace public provision of basic goods and services and become a catch-all solution for poverty reduction is false. Where cash transfers have helped to reduce poverty, they have added to public provision, not replaced it. For crucial items like food, direct provision protects poor consumers from rising prices and is part of a broader strategy to ensure domestic supply. Problems like targeting errors...