Handloom weavers in Andhra Pradesh are in a crisis brought on by policy blindness and the emphasis on powerlooms. WHEN P. Pulliah, a weaver in the traditional cotton handloom centre of Chirala in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, describes the sarees he crafts, thread by delicate thread, his face lights up with joy. He animatedly explains that the sarees have a border on both sides. And they are fully embellished, he...

-The Indian Express   SC is right that natural resources are held in public trust, but its comments on allocation are simplistic In its ruling in the 2G spectrum allocation case, the Supreme Court said that auctions were the best route for allocation of finite natural resources. “While transferring or alienating the natural resources, the State is duty bound to adopt the method of auction by giving wide publicity so that all eligible...

Sending a clear message that the 2G spectrum allocation of 2008 is a scam and not the result of a government policy decision, the Supreme Court today quashed the grant of 122 UAS licences and allocation of spectrum to 12 private companies. Even as the trial in the 2G case progresses in a Patiala House trial court in Delhi, a bench of Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly held...

The Planning Commission and the finance ministry are at odds over the accounting of plan and non-plan schemes in the budget.  While the finance ministry is pushing for inclusion of more than 10 non-plan schemes in the planned budget for the next financial year, the Planning Commission is resisting the move as it would eat into the share of existing schemes. The commission's reluctance follows an expected cut or flat allocation...

-The Economic Times   A government-appointed committee has recommended a complete overhaul of government accounting norms with a view to enforcing transparency and better monitoring of public spending.  In its report submitted to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, the C R Sundaramurti Committee has suggested rationalisation and reorganisation of the existing account classification of list of major and minor heads of accounts (LMMHA) of centre and states."  The proposed accounting classification structure will provide a...