Entrepreneurship Encouraged by the Government

iGovernment reports that the Indian government is encouraging the growth of entrepreneurship in several different ways, from public private partnerships to employment generation programs. In its Eleventh Plan, macro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) clusters will be promoted.
The Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana will assist potential 1.5 lakh first-generation entrepreneurs in completion of various [...]

Eco-Wise: Braving New Frontiers in Waste Management

Waste management is a significant challenge for India, specifically in urban areas, where the accumulation of trash leads to the prevalence of preventable diseases in poor, underprivileged populations. In order to address this issue, change is required on both a systemic and individual level, as the cause of the problem is rooted not only in [...]

TC-I Tidbits

Health: According to a report, India is not on track toward the Millennium Development Goal of reducing child and maternal mortality. The number of children who die before their fifth birthday stands at 76 per 1,000 live births, while the goal is 38.
Government Schemes: The Gujarat state government’s Jyoti Gram Yojana, a program to [...]

Evening Edition

For your reading pleasure:

Government and Inflation: After meeting with the Cabinet Committee on Prices, PM Manmohan Singh announced a multitude of measures to rein in inflation. In related news, rising prices could deal a significant blow to the US-India nuclear agreement due to the potential for political fallout.
Microfinance: VC Circle reports that Lok [...]

Remote Blogging: Skoll World Forum 2008 — What is the role of government?

In the Innovation and Change in Government Culture workshop, one of the major themes was which problems or issues should government address and which should they ignore or stay away from. This is a very important concern, especially since much of the impetus for social entrepreneurship comes from those areas where the public sector is [...]

Super Early Morning Edition

Headlines: 

 Shrinking Job Market Gives Government the Shivers

The Manmohan Singh government, which is battling inflation, has another worry at hand: a shrinking job market. While the government at the Centre has not been able to rein in prices, it has admitted that rupee appreciation against dollar has resulted in the loss of about 20 lakh jobs.

Rural [...]

Late Night Edition

Headlines: 

Government Claims Job Scheme Has Benefited 3 Crore Families

Government on Wednesday claimed in the Rajya Sabha that over three crore families had benefited from the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) programme and Rs 8,000 crore had been transferred to the accounts of the beneficiaries. 

Lok Capital Increases Fund Size to $22 Million

Lok Capital LLC, an India focused [...]

Development’s Double-Edged Sword

In a largely critical piece on India’s development titled On the Road to Disaster in India in the World Politics Review, Parag Khanna paints a picture which questions the country’s rising status. Moreover, Khanna charges the government with a lack of planning that is leading to haphazard development.
To get straight to the punchline:

For all the [...]

Farmer Suicides Continue

As an update to a previous post, “Seeds of Discontent,” InfoChange India reports that despite the recent government loan waiver package for poor farmers with less than 2 hectares of land, farmer suicides continue:
 Even as the UPA government works out the nitty-gritty of the Rs 60,000 crore loan waiver for farmers, announced in its 2008 Union budget, [...]

A “Renewal” for India’s Disabled

As mentioned in a previous post entitled, “Treating More than Diarrhea,” the condition of  India’s mentally and physically disabled population, in terms of the provision of basic amenities or medical services, is dismal.  As per official data, India has 21 million disabled people, but non-government agencies are less conservative in their estimate, and place the figure [...]

Reclaiming the Land

As brought to our attention by InfoChangeIndia, the phenomenon of urban migration is a multidimensional issue, with social and economic repercussions, both for rural and urban India. As described in an article entitled, “This Land is Ours!”, as a result of urban migration, women in rural communities are undergoing changes in terms of their [...]

Caged by the Public Sector

Over the past three years, the Indian economy has surged at an average rate of 9% per year, thereby bolstering India’s image as a formidable economic force on the global stage.  However, in order to sustain both economic growth and human development, the Economist, in its latest issue entitled, “What’s Holding India Back?”, contends that India [...]

Midday Newsfeed

Headlines from around the town:

Include women in governance agenda: Women’s Charter Against Poverty

To mark the International Women’s Day, Indian anti-poverty network Wada Na Todo Abhiyan has released a report highlighting the recommendations of the Women’s Tribunal Against Poverty held in October last year. The charter against poverty reinforces the demand for women’s access to power, [...]

Select Headlines from OneWorld South Asia

Here are links to articles addressing a variety of issues. All are from OneWorld South Asia:

Half the world’s population will live in cities by the end of 2008
Government schemes not reaching the disabled
Avian influenza: Good job India, says FAO
9% for health and education still a distant dream