-AFP Berlin: India has been ranked lower in corruption than neighbouring Pakistan but higher than China by graft watchdog Transparency International in a survey released on Tuesday. Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia have been ranked as the world's most corrupt countries while Denmark and New Zealand are nearly squeaky-clean. India ranked 94 on the index, above Pakistan at rank 127 but below China which took the 80th position. India was ranked at...

-The Business Standard Politics of populism will impact the government's fightback against inflation Mumbai: With the benefits of Food Security Bill failing to kick in, government is back to playing the card which many claim helped it win the previous election. It is looking to make a substantial hike in wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), according to a latest report by Economic times. A panel...

-The Hindustan Times   More Indians are feeling the gloom of a faltering Economy, a global poll has suggested, with as many as one in every four rating their lives poorly enough to be classified as ‘suffering'. "Suffering" has more than doubled in recent years as Indians begin to have a grim outlook on the future as well, according to US-based research firm Gallup's report. The firm interviewed 5,000 adult Indians in...

-The Indian Express Government must step up private sector involvement in agricultural research. Why Bharat Ratna awardee C.N.R. Rao called the acts of politicians "idiotic" is for him to elaborate. Perhaps he was referring to those advocating a ban on GM research in India. After all, Rao has vehemently urged a five-fold increase in funding for research and development in agriculture. That includes research on GM crops. On the food front, we have...

-The Business Standard Expenses such as employment guarantees and loan waivers are, in effect, subsidies that are classified differently in government accounts Over the last few years, the government announced many policy initiatives that purportedly help the weaker sections of our society. Schemes initiated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) or the distribution of free and affordable food items under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) are examples...