The Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry has moved the Cabinet note on the revised Sports Development Bill for inter-ministerial consultations. The Bill seeks to bring about accountability and transparency in the administering of sports. Dissent note The Bill, which has drawn support from various quarters including eminent sportspersons and members of the civil society, is aimed at bringing about efficiency and transparency in the working of the national sports federations and seeks...

The state government has finally decided to compensate cotton growing farmers on the basis of their land holding rather than on the crop sold. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday said it was not possible to compensate farmers on a per quintal basis — a demand by a few Opposition parties — because many farmers had already sold their cotton. However, Chavan said the state government had not yet decided on the...

-The Hindu   A pro-nuclear plant agitation has begun: Narayanasamy Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy on Wednesday briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the situation in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, where an agitation is on against the commissioning of the nuclear power plant. Later speaking to journalists, Mr. Narayanasamy expressed hope that the stalemate would be resolved soon. “A pro-nuclear plant agitation has started in Kudankulam…The atmosphere is changing slowly.” Stating...

Recent events in south Asia have led to an unexpected reversal in the narrative of microfinance, long presented as a development success. Despite charges of poor treatment of clients, exaggeration of the impact on the poorest as well as the risks of credit bubbles, the sector can play a non-negligible role in reaching financial services to low-income households. In regulating the sector, there is need for caution in setting interest...

An unprecedented economic growth during the last decade has also seen increasing malnutrition, hunger and starvation amongst certain sections of society. India ranks 66 in the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO’s) World Hunger Index of 88 countries (Inter-national Food Policy Research Institute). More than 200 million people in this country are denied the right to food. One-third of all underweight children (57 million) in the world due to lack of...