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 …
The Micro Financial Sector (Development & Regulations) Bill 2007 has been under the scanner of late. The bill proposes to make the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (nabard) the regulator of micro-finance sector in the country. Until now, the Reserve Bank of India has been regulating financial organisations …
That health care facilities available to the poor are insufficient is common knowledge. According to a recent report of the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (assocham), 1,083 family welfare centres fail to provide health care to the 180 million urban poor, with the shortfall being more for …
The Haryana government recently announced that it would be mandatory for all NGOs in the state to have their individual websites by June 30 if they have to qualify for further grants. They will also have to put all relevant information online. On March 23, 2007, Kartar Devi, minister for …
On April 11, 2007, the us Senate voted to lift a key restriction by us president George W Bush on the federal funding of stem-cell research. Ignoring Bush's threat of a second veto, the Democrat-controlled Senate passed the Stem Cell Enhancement Act of 2007. But it failed to get the …
a planning Commission expert committee recommended early in March that an autonomous body under the Union ministry of rural development (mord) be professionalised. The autonomous body
the European Union (eu) has come up with new funds to promote the best ideas in science and technology. The first ever pan-European research body, the European Research Council, will dole out cash regardless of location or institution within eu. It aims for excellence and to "bring the Nobel prizes …
"Humne khule mein shauch jaane ki pratha chhod di hai (We have stopped defecating in the open)'. Painted against a whitewashed wall of the primary school in Baruki village, Uttar Pradesh's Bijnaur district, the slogan claims victory in the battle against this practice. But the reality is a little different: …
>> Viacom on March 13 slapped a billion-dollar lawsuit against Google and its affiliate YouTube in New York. It accuses the video-sharing website of massive copyright infringement. It alleges that almost 160,000 unauthorised clips of Viacom's programmes are available on YouTube, which recently said it would remove more than 100,000 …
This book proposes to present design of income policy for farmers suiting India's over populated rural sector. The profile of the farms and the farmers is presented to understand the structure of the farm economy and type of farmers for whom the income policy is designed. It also looks into …
Besides facilitating overall economic growth, finance can help individuals smooth their income, insure themselves against risks and broaden investment opportunities. Empirical evidence shows that inclusive financial systems significantly raise growth, alleviate poverty and expand economic opportunity. This paper lays out several principles that should be kept in mind when designing …
the 2007 Union budget has brushed representations for tax reliefs from the pesticide industry. While environmental groups are relieved, pesticide manufacturers have criticised the government's position. In a pre-budget memorandum, pesticide manufacturers had demanded that excise duty be reduced from the existing 16 per cent to 8 per cent and …
The Norwegian government has stopped funding World Bank's Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), says World Development Movement (WDM), a UK-based group. Norway's move comes close to the recent collapse of water privatisation scheme in Guyana, says Vicky Cann of WDM. Norway is the sixth largest donor of PPIAF. "By …
the Union budget for 2007-08 is big on illusions, small on vision. Despite the hype about its tilt towards the agriculture sector, the budget has failed to put together a package to bail out the ailing sector. Also, despite being the first budget of the 11th Five-Year Plan, it has …
It can be said that Union budget, 2007, is high on symbolism and intent. Most people in and close to power acknowledge that something is spoiling booming India's party: price rise, agricultural decay, poverty, mainly. This budget, says finance minister P Chidambaram, is the government's way to fix these problems …
on january 25, 2007, the Union government approved 22 more urban development projects in 11 cities across the country. The Union ministry of urban development (moud) approved Rs 795 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (jnnurm), a central government initiative for infrastructure development in cities. Cities that received …
The Union budget 2007-08 will very likely slash development funds for the most backward regions of India by more than 48 per cent, say sources at the Union ministry of Panchayati Raj. Government is expected to further slash budgetary support to development schemes to adhere to the Fiscal Responsibility and …
in may 2004, India had a new government at the Centre. Bangalore and Hyderabad, the two boroughs of shining India, saw their chief ministers eat humble pie at the hustings. An India not very often visible
THE centre's commitment to targets stipulated by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003, threatens to set it on a collision course with states. The matter at hand is funding social sector projects. Going by discussions on preparation of the Union budget 2007-2008, the centre seems to have made …
