The Lok Sabha was adjourned on Wednesday following uproar over fresh poverty estimates released by the Planning Commission, which pegged the poverty line at Rs 28.65 per capita daily consumption in cities. As soon as the House met, National Democratic Alliance convener Sharad Yadav and Communist Party of India leader Prabodh Panda were on their feet, demanding suspension of the Question Hour for a discussion on the latest poverty estimates of the Planning Commission.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dubbed the electoral bonds as the 'world's biggest extortion scheme' and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the 'champion of corruption'.
'Right now hockey is totally changed and anyone can beat anyone depending on the day. It depends on how many chances you create.'
As Singapore, New York and Melbourne have shown, cities can mitigate the impact of heatwaves if they have the will to create green infrastructure, explain Amit Kapoor & Bibek Debroy.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday sought to highlight his government's accomplishments at the meeting of the Planning Commission in New Delhi.
The US President is extremely interested in this, as the secretary of state is," Roemer told US lawmakers at confirmation hearing when senator Richard Lugar citing a recent World Bank report informed him that there are 828 million Indians living on less than $2 a day.
An Economic survey released by the state government said the poverty estimates provided by the Planning Commission reveal poverty ratio in the state is 30.7 per cent, 3.2 per cent more than the all-India (27.5 per cent) figure.
"There are several ways in which poverty can be measured . . . the National Sample Survey is the basis for calculating poverty on headcount basis. However, when minister of state for planning V Narayansamy said 'poverty line is being assessed', there was an uproar in the House and Joshi was joined by CPI-M- MP Brinda Karat, who wanted a satisfactory reply from the minister.
"Workers and businesses are facing catastrophe, in both developed and developing economies. We have to move fast, decisively, and together. The right, urgent, measures, could make the difference between survival and collapse," ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said on Tuesday. Worldwide, two billion people work in the informal sector (mostly in emerging and developing economies) and are particularly at risk, the report said, adding that the COVID-19 crisis is already affecting tens of millions of informal workers. "In India, Nigeria and Brazil, the number of workers in the informal economy affected by the lockdown and other containment measures is substantial," ILO said.
The number of US residents living in poverty edged up to 46.5 million last year, the latest sign that an economic recovery marked by a stock market boom has not trickled down to ordinary Americans.
Hailing the role of self-help groups in advancement of marginalised section of society, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday said they provide the poor with "self-confidence to overcome poverty".
The debate boils down to what path India should take in coming years as slower growth puts further poverty reduction at risk in the world's second-most populous nation.
Embarrassed by the debate on whether its suggestion that a human being can live on Rs 32 a day in urban India, the Plan panel has said those who are not really poor should be excluded from being enumerated as being poor.
The Met office has issued a "red" warning for Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and west Rajasthan, stressing the need for "extreme care for vulnerable people".
Targeting Modi over inflation, Priyanka called him a "mehengai" man.
Bharatiya Janata Party state president Shamsher Singh Manhas said the menace of corruption has also gripped Jammu and Kashmir.
The Planning Commission pegs decline at 7.8 percentage points between 2009-10 and 2011-12.
India will soon write to the International Labour Organisation seeking its help to combat the scourge of penury and bring down the poverty ratio to 19 per cent by 2007 from the present level of 26 per cent.\n\n\n\n
Rashford earned praise during the COVID-19 pandemic when he launched a child food poverty campaign, which prompted a government U-turn in 2020.
One third of the world's poor live in India.
'Rahul is not even a lamp before the sun'
.jpg)
The party was retaliating to farmers' suicide comment by BJP national treasurer Piyush Goyal.
The poverty ratio in the country has fallen steeply during the UPA regime to 21.9 per cent in 2012 from 37.2 per cent in 2004, said the UPA government's Report Card released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
As many as nine crore people would be out from the state of abject poverty in next 5 years if India could stop inequality from rising and levy a nominal tax on the super riches to narrow the rich and poor divide, a report said.
In the survey conducted on the socio-economic perception on India and Pakistan after 60 years of independence from the British rule, the BBC found that the world also associated both countries with poverty.
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan will inspire terrorists and trigger an "explosion" of extremism and security challenges for the world, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned on Thursday.
The report, 'More and Better Jobs in South Asia', released on Thursday said the required new jobs will be equivalent to about 40 per cent of the increase in the global labour force during the period.
China, which is building numerous villages in Tibet close to its borders with India and Bhutan, has held several celebratory events to mark its takeover of Tibet in the new border villages with a mix of border troops and the local population, the official media in Beijing reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the government will extend for five years the free ration scheme, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, covering 80 crore poor people.
An increase in development aid since 2002 has raised health and education standards and hastened gender equality among the world's poorest nations but overall poverty rates are not improving, says a new United Nations report.
The Planning Commission has issued poverty estimates based on the Suresh Tendulkar methodology, while admitting it was not taking this seriously.
Gandhi said farmers asked him during his Bharat Jodo and Bharat Jodo Nyay yatras about why they were not getting the benefit of loan waivers like billionaire industrialists or MSP (minimum support price) for farm produce.
'I am shocked that the BJP makes so many commitments. What did they deliver as the NDA?'
Poverty figures for 2011-2012 have shown a steep decline since 2004-2005.
In the Muslim community, views on this Lok Sabha election seem to vary, with some seeing it as crucial for India's pluralism while others feel neglected by political parties.
The prime minister said that India needs to fully depend on itself.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances