-PTI Batting for bringing flexibility in UPA's flagship NREGA, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said the scheme has failed to achieve the three objectives of wage employment, creating community assets and empowering gram panchayats at the same time in any state. Stating that all jobs cannot be provided in areas where the youths want them, he called for encouraging migration across all states and noted with concern the "discrimination" in housing...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: It has been a year since Nirbhaya shook the country's conscience with her courage in the face of the brutal gang-rape on the night of December 16. However, the government is yet to shake off its lethargy and has not spent a rupee from the much-touted Rs 1,000-crore Nirbhaya fund. The fund was announced by the Centre with much fanfare in the Union Budget earlier this...

-The Times of India As the clock ticks towards the general elections in a few months time, a major crack appears to be opening up in the government. The mandarins of finance ministry - presumably with the sanction of finance minister P Chidambaram - have proposed huge cuts amounting to over Rs 20,000 crore in spending on popular flagship schemes like the employment guarantee scheme, the rural housing scheme, the village...

-The Business Standard Inflationary figures could also desist RBI from easing its monetary stance to perk up economic growth The retail price index-based inflation jumped to an all-time high of 11.24%, driven by high vegetable prices, official data showed today. The inflation stood at 10.09% in October, entering double digits for the first time in six months. The surging prices of essential commodities were an important issue in the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Indian economy, Asia's third-largest, faces a difficult situation where growth has slowed to a decade low but price pressures have remained stubborn. It has one of the highest inflation rates in the world, and the highest in Asia. Weak growth and high inflation also complicated the policy choice for the central bank. Separate data released by the Central Statistics Office showed industrial output slumped 1.8%...