-PTI   Jharkhand PCC today welcomed the Union rural development ministry's recommendation for CBI probe into two cases of murder, apparently related to corruption and wage demands in MGNREGA scheme. "There are numerous instances of corruption cases in MGNREGA schemes and the CBI probe will unearth them," PCC general secretary-cum-spokesperson Sailesh Sinha said here. "The recommendation has come as a deterrent to the authorities, who are responsible to implement schemes under MGNREGA," he...

The current perception that cash transfers can replace public provision of basic goods and services and become a catch-all solution for poverty reduction is false. Where cash transfers have helped to reduce poverty, they have added to public provision, not replaced it. For crucial items like food, direct provision protects poor consumers from rising prices and is part of a broader strategy to ensure domestic supply. Problems like targeting errors...

Dr Binayak Sen has given a double blow to the state administration of Chattisgarh. First, the Supreme Court rejected the sedition charges levelled against him for which the state courts found him guilty. And then he was appointed to the 40-member steering committee on health in the planning commission. The Chattisgarh government has been vocally protesting against Sen's appointment, saying that he still remains a convict out on bail and should...

-The Business Standard   Land acquisition for non-agricultural purposes is one of the oldest policy challenges that modern governments have faced. It is, therefore, not surprising that it has become a major political issue in India as urbanisation spreads, new industries grow and major infrastructure development takes place. To imagine that complex political challenges faced in widely varying agrarian, social and economic contexts can be suitably addressed by one common national...

If you can’t beat them, join them. The fight for land between villagers and industrialists gets a unique twist in coal-rich belts of Karanpura valley — comprising cheek by jowl blocks Barkagaon and Keredari (Hazaribagh) and Tandwa (Chatra) — with residents asking the Centre’s permission to commercially exploit the area’s natural resources instead of allowing investors from outside. Karanpura is the state’s green bowl for vegetables, but it sits on rich coal...