-The Hindu Proposing a new "empowerment line" that aims to measure the minimum economic cost for a household to fulfil eight most basic needs, a global research organisation has estimated that 680 million Indians, or 56 per cent of the population, lacks the means to meet their essential needs. Health care, drinking water and sanitation between them account for nearly 40 per cent of the gap between their current status and the...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has increased the allowance to be paid to pregnant women from Rs 800 to Rs 2,000. Also instead of for one month, the amount will be paid for two months. Thus each woman will be entitled to Rs 4,000. The scheme has been underway in 125 talukas of 22 backward districts of the state since July 2011. It is part of its project to...

-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation) As per the poverty estimates released by the Planning Commission, the percentage of population Below Poverty Line in urban areas has declined from 25.5% in 2004-05 to 13.7% in 2011-12. This was stated by Dr. (Ms.) Girija Vyas, Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. Dr Vyas stated that the...

-The Business Standard The economic logic - and political reasons - behind the giant shift of spending power to the states Interim Budgets are not supposed to do this. This is precisely what they are not supposed to do. They are not supposed to lay out a policy change so vast it disempowers the next central government. But that's what P Chidambaram has done - and it appears to have been...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A man seeking land registration details in a village through Right to Information Act was asked to pay a fee in excess of Rs 21 lakh. When a Below Poverty Line person put up an RTI query on distribution of food grains under PDS, he was told to deposit Rs 2,000 to get the information. Citing these and many such examples, advocate Sanjeeb Panigrahi has filed...