IMF drops veil to reveal details of its finances
The International Monetary Fund further opened its books to public scrutiny, detailing for the first time which governments provide it with resources. The fund has been gradually becoming more open about its finances in response to criticism from the US Congress and others that it has been an excessively secretive …
The poor who are always with us
The UN, the World Bank, the IMF and the OECD jointly issued their interim report which makes bleak reading. In 1998, 1.2 billion people were in dire poverty throughout the world. This is the same number, though a slightly smaller proportion of the world's population, as were poor in 1990. …
State to get 500 cr aid from World Bank
The World Bank will extend financial assistance to the tune of Rs 500 crore to the State Government for the conduct of District Poverty Alleviation Programme in Madhya Pradesh. An official Press release issued at Jabal pur said that Madhya Pradesh is oneof th three states of the country that …
Amartya warning rings no bell
There is little need to look beyond the budget allocations to see that education and health remain minor issues for the Centre. The total health and human resource development budgets are Rs 5,852 crore and Rs 9,896 crore. Together, they are less than the money kept aside to buy new …
Seattle echo at Davos on globalisation
Seattle came to Davos after all. The 30th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting of 2000 has made it clear-both as a concept and in term of actual violence-that sentiment against economic globalisation has become an issue which is not going to go away.
NGOs protest against Pancheshwar dam
Several NGOs yesterday protested here over the porposed construction of Pancheshwar dam on the confluence of the Mahakali and Sarayu rivers at the Indo-Nepal border and demanded immediate review of the project.
Voters
Cancel planned Yoshino sluice dam : A survey found that three-quarters of voters think the results of a referendum denouncing the construction of a sluice-gate dam on the Yoshino River in Tokushima Prefecture (Japan) should be respected. The Asahi Shimbun survey, held over this weekend, asked whether the government should …
Delhi tops in productivity in north, J&K figures worst
Delhi has topped the seven northern states in terms of productivity of labour and capital. It also has the second lowest cost of capital among the states in the region. This was stated in the Annual Survey of Industries Data released by the Central Statistical Organisation.
Panchayati Raj Act amended in Rajasthan
The Rajasthan Government has amended its Panchayati Raj law by issuing an ordinance barring a candidate from contesting in more than one constitutency in the panchayat elections.
Quantity and quality
Barely a fortnight after publishing its World Development Report, the World Bank has released another big study on growth and poverty. The new study, no less than its predecessor, is a harmful muddle : a report.
World Banks begins to close the curtains on its critics
Attacks by NGOs have ironically given rise to a backlash by some World Bank members against greater openess and transparancy. The problem came to a head last month. World Bank staff proposed that country assistance strategies (CAS) - the key documents which set out the bank's plans for its client …
Report pours cold water on UK-US trade pact
A free trade arrangement between the UK and the US would have virtually no impact on overall economic growth in either country, and could be negative under some circumstances, the US International Trade Commission said. In a study requested by the Senate finance committee, the ITC, an independent federal agency, …
Baba Amte to receive Netaji Award-2000
Eminent social worker Baba Amte and orthopaedic surgeon Dr Sunil Thakur have been selected for Netaji Award 2000 by the All India Critics Association. Announcing the names of the receipents of various awards, the association general secretary Ramen Ghosh said here on Monday that Gandharva Award-1999 would be conferred on …
IMF, World Bank end annual meeting one day early
The weary captains of global capitalism said they were finishing the annual summit of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank one day early-but they insisted their business was done and they hadn't been derailed by violent street demonstrations.
Hino, Toyota push fuel efficiency in new truck
Hino Motors has developed a new diesel truck model with Toyota Motor Corp., Hino said. The new model is now in pre-production testing. It combines Hino's low-pollution diesel engine with Toyota's hybrid and catalytic converter systems, Hino said.
Protestors for poverty
A small number of protesters against global capitalism have, as expected, graced the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Prague with their ugly presence. They should be told, firmly, that they are wrong. Unfortunately, for the most part, this is not what is happening. (editorial)
World Bank's new prescription for eliminating poverty
The World Bank has come out with a new research showing that countries could double their per capita incomes by improving their legal systems and combating corruption.This was stated in the bank report "The Quality of Growth".
