Total outlay for School Education is Rs.13,334 crore Students of classes X, XI and XII in government and government-aided schools will be entitled to an incentive after completion of schooling, Finance Minister O. Pannerselvam told the Assembly in the Budget speech for 2011-12 here on Thursday. The total outlay for School Education is Rs.13,334 crore. While students of classes X and XI would receive Rs.1,500 each per year for completion, students of...

The past couple of months have seen a renewed attack on the National Advisory Council (NAC). The NAC has been decried as an unconstitutional, undemocratic, “super-cabinet” where unaccountable “jholawalas” hatch harebrained schemes guaranteed to run the government aground. Another line of criticism has focused on the process of the formation of the NAC, its space within the Indian Constitution, and its capacity to influence policy. The two criticisms merge with...

-The Times of India   Team Anna on Thursday began burning copies of the government's version of the Lokpal Bill that was tabled in Parliament today. Team Anna said the symbolic protest would continue till August 16 when Gandhian Anna Hazare will go on fast to protest the exclusion of several recommendations made by civil society members on the bill. The proposed legislation introduced in the Lok Sabha doesn't cover the Prime Minister...

-The Business Standard   Among the many initiatives and innovations being considered to improve returns to farming, the creation of producers’ companies deserves closer policy attention than has been the case so far. A farmers’ company, registered as a corporate entity with the registrar of companies, under the Companies Act, can help farm producers come together and derive economies of scope and scale. A group of farmers in Andhra Pradesh has reportedly...

-The Times of India   The BJP-led Opposition on Wednesday launched its attack on the UPA government over the issue of price rise in Lok Sabha. Opening the debate, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said that the BJP did not want the growth of economy if poor were dying of hunger. "Price rise is the worst kind of taxation on poor. The government should take immediate measures to check price rise" Sinha said. Continuing the...