-The Business Standard Achieves total financial inclusion in Andhra Pradesh. State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to use the rural banking correspondent (BC) network for farm loan recoveries in addition to the Services prescribed under the financial inclusion plan by the Reserve Bank of India. The SBI’s Hyderabad circle with operational jurisdiction extending to the entire state of Andhra Pradesh is one of the first to achieve total financial inclusion. It has...
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Food as people's right by MS Swaminathan
This is the season to count blessings. India's greatest blessings are its adherence to the democratic system of governance, an independent judiciary, a free and fearless media, and an Election Commission that inspires confidence. I hope that soon India will have an independent and effective Lokpal, which will pave the way for a corruption-free India, a pre-requisite for a hunger-free India. The other major paradigm shift observed in recent years is...
More »This NGO fights for farmers' rights by Nandhu Sundaram
Ajay Vir Jakhar is the chairman of Bharat Krishak Samaj, a prominent forum for farmers. Over the years, his group has fought for everything from better NREGA to a better Right to Food Act. When he speaks about farmers, his demeanour is one of an impassioned pleader for their rights. In an exclusive interview with The Times of India, he spoke about how NREGS could be modified to make it...
More »A Real Priority by Bhaskar Dutta
The Union government has tabled two bills in the Lok Sabha in the last week of the winter session. Since one of them is the lok pal bill, it has hijacked virtually all the public attention. This is a pity for two reasons. First, there is considerable doubt whether the lok pal bill — in any form — can really be the magic solution that Team Anna would like us...
More »Too little, too late by Harsh Mander
If we get it right, the Food Security Bill carries the potential to alter the destinies of millions of India's poor and disadvantaged people, by assuring them as a legal right sufficient food to live with dignity. It was approved by the Cabinet after over two years of intense, sometimes fractious debate. Opinion in the Cabinet itself was reportedly divided around the proposed law. Gaping divisions persist, even as the...
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