India grapples with endemic backwardness in over 200 districts while some sectors and sections make global headlines. The Centre on Market Solutions to Poverty's report, Creating Vibrant Public-Private-Panchayat Partnerships for Inclusive Growth through Inclusive Governance explores this paradox by looking at the ground-level realities in local governance through the Panchayati Raj, the issues of agricultural productivity and value addition, and the role that the business sector could play in rural...

The government on Monday said 58 million new job opportunities are likely to be created during the 11th Five year plan (2007-12), thanks to various steps including three stimulus packages since December 2008. Replying to a supplementary during the Question Hour in Lok Sabha, Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said employment is projected to grow at an average rate of 2.73 per cent annually. He informed the House that...

Ranchi: It was a budget aimed at sweetening the bitter price rise pill. From cutting down VAT on diesel, sweets and ice- cream to making foodgrains available at Re 1 per kg for the poor, deputy chief minister Raghubar Das today presented an annual budget which focused on rural development, food security and social welfare. Chanting the “inclusive growth” mantra, Das, the BJP face in the Shibu Soren government, showed...

Though many migrant workers from south Madhya Pradesh have died of the incurable workplace disease called silicosis contracted from inhaling quartz dust in stone crushing factories in Gujarat, the public health system has carried out no comprehensive survey to identify the disease, which is often passed off as tuberculosis, many factories have not installed anti-pollution systems, and the NHRC has been sitting on the case since 2006 “He kept coughing…became more...

The Centre is considering seeking the help of private institutions to impart training to BPL households to augment functional capability of workers in rural areas, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here on Tuesday. Addressing the MNREGS Sammelan 2010, Dr. Singh said integration of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme with the National Rural Livelihood Mission was among the options before the government to not only create job opportunities...