-Al Jazeera   The reforms promoted by Prime Minister Singh do not go far enough to help food production and the hungry. The debate on the Food Security Act is based on myths on both sides. The government is propagating the myth that it is the largest anti-poverty and anti-hunger programme ever introduced anywhere in the world. The programme is being heralded as Sonia Gandhi's dream project, and billed as a miracle solution...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) chairperson, Wajahat Habibullah, today said he would urge the Prime Minister to ensure speedy rehabilitation of Muzaffarnagar riot victims at Monday's National Integration Council (NIC) meeting. "According to official figures, nearly 44,500 Muslims have been displaced from their villages and have taken shelter in nearby schools and mosques in Muslim-dominated villages. I will urge the Prime Minister to take up the matter...

Bihar Government's programme of distributing bicycles to school girls may be a modest intervention but is leading to big changes. A new research-based paper, brought out in August 2013, corroborates the success of the programme and testifies that it is leading to improved school enrollment of girls and arresting their dropout rates (See links below to read full paper and earlier studies on the subject).   Based on econometric and statistical models,...

-The Hindu It is the only sector that can create jobs and prevent the economic crisis from deepening In the last two decades, the Indian economy has witnessed a transformational change to emerge as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Economic reforms unveiled in 1991 have brought about a structural shift enabling the private sector to assume a much larger role in the economy. GDP growth has largely been...

-The Hindustan Times As the general election nears, the government has allowed Members of Parliament (MPs) more flexibility in utilising their local area development fund. They can now install solar lights at public places, build public infrastructure in cooperative societies and buy furniture for schools. Every parliamentarian gets Rs. 5 crore every year as Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) Fund to carry out developmental works in his or her constituency....