'...as then it brings them closer to the complaints and grievances that the public faces.'
A recent World Bank report placing India among the most equal countries globally may present a limited view of inequality, with economists suggesting that broader data sets could tell a different story. According to the report, India's Gini index (or coefficient/ratio), a key measure of inequality, stood at 25.5 in 2022-23, placing the country fourth globally in terms of equality, behind only the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Belarus.
Despite facing financial constraints, Kerala has been able to invest in welfare schemes and targeted programmes.
Extreme poverty in India declined by 38 million in 2021 to 167.49 million after a surge in the two preceding years, but remained above the 2018 level, the latest World Bank data shows. While for most countries poverty rose in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the global economy, the data shows poverty shot up in India a year earlier in 2019 to 176.09 million from 151.79 million in 2018, the lowest pre-pandemic count. India's poverty rate at 11.9 per cent in 2021 also remained higher than the 2018 level of 11.09 per cent, though easing from 14.72 per cent in 2020.
About 56 million Indians may have plunged into extreme poverty in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, increasing the global tally by 71 million and making it the worst year for poverty reduction since World War II, according to fresh estimates by the World Bank. "The global goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 is likely to be missed: By then, about 600 million people will remain in abject poverty. A major course correction is needed," Indermit Gill, chief economist at the World Bank, tweeted. The World Bank in its latest "Poverty and Shared Prosperity" made fresh estimates of poverty using a new extreme poverty line based on the purchasing power parity (PPP) of $2.15, the earlier one being at $1.9.
The 69 retired bureaucrats claimed that the country's public health infrastructure was crying out for investment
Food insecurity and hunger are rooted in bad policies, faulty design, poor governance and a lack of political will.
Main difference has been on including people above the poverty line in the Food Security Bill.
Given the serious allegations against the firm, did these members of the board fail in their duty to safeguard the interests of stakeholders?
The mining ban has implications beyond just protecting the environment and tribal rights.
The National Advisory Council, chaired by Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, met for the second time on Thursday after its recent revival and unanimously endorsed the idea of universal access to the public distribution system (PDS) in rural areas.
The National Advisory Council, chaired by Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, met for the second time on Thursday after its recent revival and unanimously endorsed the idea of universal access to the public distribution system in rural areas. It was agreed that a universalised PDS should be implemented initially in 150 districts, a member said.
After one stop-work order on the Rs 54,000-crore Posco project, a four-member panel appointed by the Union ministry of environment and forests has dealt a body blow to yet another big-ticket investor in Orissa, the London-based Vedanta Resources Ltd.
After the exit of Aruna Roy, government has reconstituted the National Advisory Council by inducting renowned sociologist Virginius Xaxa into the 12-member panel chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The meeting will be attended by Defence Minister George Fernandes, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and possibly Governor G C Saxena, senior officials said.
Vohra said he would first meet important people in the legislature and based on those interactions, drwa up a programme for future talks.
The perspective planning division might get a new lease of life.
With talks between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Peoples Democratic Party on government formation in Jammu and Kashmir making no headway, the state seems to be headed for a spell of governor's rule.
'In UP, the CM actually announced that his administration would 'take revenge' against rioters.' 'That must have been music to his police force's ears for it substantiated what the police always do: Take revenge on an entire community for the violence of a few,' points out Jyoti Punwani.
More than 127 million new bank accounts have been opened.
The political impasse in Jammu and Kashmir has taken a new turn with Omar Abdullah deciding not to continue as caretaker chief minister, arguing that the state needed a full-time administrator to deal with the situation along the border with Pakistan.
Umar Akmal played a stunning cameo of 18-ball unbeaten 38 as Lahore Lions beat defending champions Mumbai Indians by six wickets in their opening qualifying round match of the Champions League Twenty20 in Raipur on Saturday.
Governor's rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday after political parties failed to muster the requisite number in the 87-member assembly for staking claim to form the government.
A group of retired civil servants also called upon the PM to reach out to the families of the victims in Unnao and Kathua and "seek their forgiveness on behalf of all of us".
The new ordinance on land acquisition will allow land grabbers to deprive millions, destroy agriculture, horticulture, rivers, forests, tree cover and mangroves to extract minerals as well as ground water, without replenishment at a pace that will not leave anything for the next generation, warns activist Medha Patkar.
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