-The Indian Express   In the backdrop of adverse reactions against poverty lines filed by the Planning Commission in the Supreme court this week, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has described the below poverty line (BPL) household identification methodology “approved by the Cabinet” as “least justifiable on political grounds” and a “sure recipe for political confrontation”. At the same time, he has conceded that it was the one with “best acceptability as far...

Objecting to the Planning Commission's poverty estimates and worried about the outcome of a case pending before the Supreme Court, the UPA government on Thursday underlined the need for reworking the BPL (Below the Poverty Line) cap in a bid to do away with any kind of cap, which has become a matter of controversy. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh shot off an eight page e-mail letter to the Deputy Chairman...

-The Times of India   Migration of rural Tripura population to urban and semi-urban areas has shown a sharp rise during the last 10 years, the growth of urban population in the state recording an increase of over 9.12% than the preceding decade. According to 2011 census report, the total population in the state stands at 36,71,032 currently, with the growth of urban population registered at 26.18% in 2011, as compared to 17.06%...

-India Today   Their heart is with Anna Hazare but their mind refuses to accept the anti-corruption crusader's mode of protest. Muslim and Dalit organisations supported Anna's fight against corruption, but feared that the Sangh Parivar could hijack the campaign. They also warned him about it. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has decided to stay away from Anna's a campaign "because of its political overtones". "Our organisation believes this issue doesn't...

-The Business Standard   Much depends on a strong implementation framework but the imposition of a cap by the Planning Commission could lead to arbitrary exclusions. Himanshu Assistant Professor of Economics, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University The methodology, which is based on the framework suggested by the Saxena Committee, uses indicators that have been refined using a large-scale pilot survey There are over 400 million poor (the number varies depending on which estimate you...