Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual SDG Review 2025 paints a sobering picture of persistent financial exclusion that is undermining the region’s ability …
Exactly two years later, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has set up yet another Group of Ministers (GoM) after key ministries disagreed on the basic tenets of a 2007 Cabinet decision to blend ethanol extracted from sugarcane in petrol. Last Thursday, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs agreed on creating a …
Centre mulling alternative crops The Union Government is looking at the possibility of replacing rice crop in Punjab and Haryana with alternative crops such as pulses, fodder and oilseeds that help in nitrogen fixation. The water-intensive rice cultivation over the years has become unsustainable in these two States and the …
The state government has demanded 88,000 metric tonnes of food grains from the Centre as part of the drought mitigation plans, as the government suspects that productivity will be hampered to a large extent this kharif season due to drought. The state government claimed that it was confident that the …
With non-communicable diseases (NCDs) expected to rise in years to come, the Planning Commission, in its proposed health chapter for the 12th Plan, has recommended a package of policy interventions for the escalating threat of NCDs like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases which will emerge as major …
Gadgil says it’s premature to evaluate report A working group headed by Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan will assess the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) report and submit an action plan for its “effective implementation” to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The Ministry has asked the group …
Say Govt. must focus on making the most of available resources As Delhi gets ready to implement public-private partnership models in the city to plug water and revenue leaks and ensure round-the-clock supply, water conservation experts want the Administration to look beyond dams and private companies and focus instead on …
Nearly five years after a Group of Ministers recommended a mandatory 10 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol as vehicle fuel, the implementation of the idea remains in the doldrums. Reason: none of the ministries consulted agrees with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s proposal regarding ethanol-blended petrol …
Environment Ministry has constituted a high-level Working Group headed by eminent space scientist and Planning Commission member K Kasturirangan to examine the Western Ghats ecology expert panel report “in a holistic and multidisciplinary fashion“. The nine-member Group will examine the Madhav Gadgil committee report released recently “in a holistic and …
New Delhi: The Planning Commission’s attempt to rewrite the international and domestic obligations of the government on climate change in the 12th Five-Year plan (2012-17), with a push for greater commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has miffed the environment ministry. The draft of the chapter on climate change finalized …
New Delhi: India aims to meet the much-awaited goal of reaching the total fertility rate (TFR) — the average number of children born to a woman — to 2.1% by the end of 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17). The Planning Commission is likely to set the TFR target of 2.1 in …
With an aim to determine health impact of existing and new policies which have a bearing on health of population, a dedicated “health impact cell” for conducting analysis is in the anvil. According to the Planning Commission’s proposed document on health, the views of the cell will be taken into …
Accusing that the Planning Commission ignored suggestions of the Working Group while preparing the draft chapter on health, the Union health ministry has sent out its reservations and have suggested major changes in the health chapter to the Commission. In a recent communication to the Planning Commission, the health ministry …
The second meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority’s inter-Ministerial group in Delhi on Tuesday could not make much headway on the contentious issue of the under-construction hydro-electric project on the Alaknanda at Srinagar in Uttarakhand. The group, headed by Planning Commission Member B. K. Chaturvedi, heard the builders …
Scheme coming for free distribution of medicines through public hospitals and health centres The government will expand the scope of the NRHM to all towns and cities, by converting it into a National Health Mission (NHM), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced on Wednesday. In his Independence Day speech from the …
AIZAWL, Aug 15 (IANS): Mizoram will be the gateway to Southeast Asian countries after the construction of the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project in neighbouring Myanmar, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said here Wednesday. "The Multimodal Transit Transport Project would not only improve connectivity between northeast India and Southeast Asian nations …
India's most ambitious urban development plan, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, has run into a wall with the finalisation of its second phase being delayed due to a turf war between the Urban Development Ministry and the Planning Commission. The two sides are fighting over which government agency …
The Environment Performance Index (EPI), prepared by the Planning Commission, has placed Odisha at sixth rank among the 28 States and seven Union Territories. The ranking assumes significance in view of the plan panel’s decision to link EPI with fund devolution for the States. The EPI assesses the States on …
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is exploring the possibility of land reforms even as he has been slammed by activists for not having convened a single meeting of the National Council for Land Reforms (NCLR) headed by him since its formation in 2008. Dr Singh has directed the Planning Commission to …
Pilot project in command areas of Malviya Nagar, Vasant Vihar and Nangloi The Planning Commission on Thursday gave thumbs up to Delhi Government’s move to involve private entities in supply of water in several areas of the city on the lines of power sector. The reform initiative in the water …
Learn from Delhi’s experience, says Montek to other States The Annual Plan for Delhi for 2012-13 was on Thursday finalised at Rs. 15,862 crore at a meeting between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and State Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. In his initial remarks, Mr Ahluwalia lauded Delhi’s performance …
