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 …
“It is imperative to assess sea level rise, storm surge and cyclones” A devastated Vishakapatnam has brought home the need for coastal cities to be climate resilient in terms of extreme events with respect to preparation and infrastructure. Recent studies indicate that there is a long way to go in …
While the form of its successor organisation is not yet clear, the equanimity with which the end of the Planning Commission, as we've known it, has been received reflects a revolutionary change in Centre-state relations. It acknowledges dramatic economic changes in India since 1991, with the private sector playing a …
Health ministry seeks `500 cr for scheme The Narendra Modi government will roll out the first instalment of its ambitious `health assurance for all' promise by providing 50 essential drugs free by year end. As a first step, the Union health ministry has sent a proposal to the Prime Minister's …
Approved by the Union Cabinet in 2013 Rs 662.23 crore was released to 29 states/UTs on the basis of appraisal of the programme implementation plan of the states/UTs Announced during the UPA regime, the National Urban Health Mission NUHM) a health scheme for urban poor is all set to fully …
The Planning Commission has periodically estimated poverty lines and poverty ratios for each of the years for which Large Sample Surveys on Household Consumer Expenditure have been conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. These surveys are normally conducted on quinquennial …
In June 2012, the Planning Commission constituted an Expert Group under the Chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan to review the methodology for Measurement of Poverty. On June 30th 2014, Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman of the Expert Group has submitted the Report.
Trinamul MP says party may be flexible after Modi overture In a significant development in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy for cooperative federalism, one of the Modi Sarkar’s leading critics, the Trinamul Congress, is now willing to work with the Centre over the contentious issues of the sharing of Teesta …
Over 350 villages in "water stressed" Churu district have no water woes. The ongoing Apni Yojna project drawing water from Indira Gandhi Canal is providing potable drinking water to a population of 9 lakh for 7 to 8 hours a day in this parched region. The project has been demonstrating …
At a time when the Central government is giving thrust on providing safe drinking water to every household in the country, the scenario in Assam is not so satisfactory. Data published recently by the Planning Commission revealed that 30.1 per cent of households in Assam are yet to be provided …
World Food Programme Begins Study On E-Governance Of Ration Shops The state government has roped in United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) to bring all ration shops in the state under the ambit of e-governance to plug leakages in the public distribution system (PDS). WFP has begun a feasibility study …
Even as the UPA generously handed an unprecedented 702,000 hectares of forest land to industry, a litany of pending approvals awaits the new govt By mid-May, clearances for industry and infrastructure development amounting to 830,000 hectares of forests remain pending with the Centre and state governments. Some of these date …
An expert group of Planning Commission has pitched for major investments to reduce country's carbon footprint, saying India needs to invest $834 billion in nearly two decades to be firmly on low carbon and environment-friendly growth trajectory. It also stressed on use of renewable energy resources in big way, saying …
The Planning Commission's taskforce on waste to energy (W2E) has recently recommended a public-private partnership(PPP) model for a combination of waste management technologies, including W2E plants, bio-methanation and composting, that can be integrated to reduce the load on landfills. For larger cities like Delhi, it mainly recommends W2E plants that …
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld the Punjab Government’s right of land use for laying a pipeline to transport natural gas. The acquisition of right of user in land was part of the process to provide natural gas through the pipeline to the entire country. Challenging the acquisition, …
India could be overstating poverty levels as the private final consumption estimates captured by the National Income Accounts (NIA) is nearly twice as much as the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) estimates for consumption expenditure of households in 2011-12. At present, poverty ratios are calculated using the NSSO data. The …
The government plans to impose an additional 30% environment compensation charge on diesel vehicles and is considering tightening the emission norms by mandating fuels compliant with Euro-IV norms by next year and Euro-V norms by 2016 while it is targeting Euro-VI norms by 2021. Supply of higher quality petrol and …
Prof. N.H. Ravindranath at the Centre of Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bengaluru, and one of the lead authors of the last of the three IPCC working group reports focusing on mitigating climate change maintains that the agricultural sector has a high potential for energy efficiency. Prof. Ravindranath said, “The agricultural sector …
India may upgrade nationwide fuel standards to eliminate cancer-causing particle emissions from vehicular exhaust by 2021, nine years behind other developing countries such as Turkey and Brazil. India’s pumps may start selling fuels of the same quality sold in Europe by April 2021, according to a draft copy of recommendations …
To be on the lines of Cabinet Committee on Investments for speedy decision making The Planning Commission is firming up a proposal for setting up a Cabinet committee on transport, a move that could lead to speedy decision making in the sector. The proposed committee will be on the lines …
