Social priorities have received scant fiscal attention There is good reason to feel let down by this year’s budget for the advancement of social sectors. The disappointment is more given that the Union finance minister opened his speech by stating that “we are reaching the end of a remarkable fiscal year” and followed it up by immediate assertions that “growth in 2010-11 has been swift and broad-based”, that “the economy...

A proposed government move to regulate content on blogs has ignited a firestorm of protest from the blogging community which is accusing the government of restricting free speech and acting like the guardians of a police state. At the heart of the issue is the Indian IT Act which was amended in 2008 to incorporate the much-needed changes to clarify the legal position of intermediaries or those who provide web-hosting...

There was a lot of apprehension before budget day regarding what the Union finance minister will do to reduce the deficit. Will he roll back the tax concessions implemented a couple of years ago as part of a fiscal stimulus package? Will he announce populist social sector spending in view of the major state polls coming up this year? Will he be too timid and not take any bold steps...

The state cabinet which met here on Tuesday approved the Right to Service (RTS) Act and the Chief Minister Food Security Scheme (CMFSS). According to sources in the state cabinet, the RTS Act enables a citizen right to service within a stipulated period taking away the right of the government employees to sit on files related to services of the citizens. The sources said under the Mukhyamantri Khadya Suraksha Yojana i.e. CMFSS,...

India faces the challenge of inappropriate use of antibiotics while Bharat copes with poor access to treatment, resulting in a policy conundrum and inaction. India was recently in the news for the wrong reasons. The serious threat posed by the newly discovered microbe, NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo--lactamase-1), resistant to many antibiotics, triggered alarm and panic. Predictions that the country will not meet the millennium development goal for child mortality caused dismay....