New Delhi:Data released by the Planning Commission on Monday showed that poverty had significantly declined between 2004-05 and 2009-10.

The Planning Commission on Monday released the latest poverty estimates for the country showing a decline in the incidence of poverty by 7.3 per cent over the past five years and stating that anyone with a daily consumption expenditure of Rs. 28.35 and Rs. 22.42 in urban and rural areas respectively is above the poverty line.

The new poverty estimates for 2011-12 will only add to the furore triggered by the Commission's affidavit in the Supreme Court in October in which the BPL cap was pegged at an expenditure of Rs. 32 and Rs. 26 by an individual in the urban and rural areas respectively at the going rate of inflation in 2010-11.

Binayak Sen, leading human rights activist and vice-president of the People's Union of Civil Liberties, has said social and economic inequities are the major causes of ill-health and death in India.

While state action ought to reduce the inequities, the neoliberal economic policies of the Central government have only created and encouraged them, he alleged. Referring to a World Health Organisation report titled ‘Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale,'

New Delhi A 17% cut in the budgetary allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for FY13 is a fallout of successive years of poor expenditure by states and allegations of diversion and misappropriation of funds.

“Considering that states have not been able to spend the budgeted amount in FY12 and even in the previous years, it’s only prudent to reduce allocation in MGNREGS and channel the funds towards some other schemes where the government needs to invest more,” said a senior government official.

The Planning Commission today said poverty in India declined 7.3 percentage points to 29.8% of the population over five years to 2009-10.

Poverty in rural areas declined at a faster pace than in urban cities between 2004-05 and 2009-10, according to the Planning Commission estimates released today. The total number of poor in the country has been estimated at 34.47 crore in 2009-10, as against 40.72 crore in 2004-05.

New Delhi Allocation for UPA’s ambitious MNREGA scheme may have come down in the Union Budget but there would be no lack of funds for the rural job programme, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said today. The allocation for the scheme entitling employment to poor rural households has been reduced from R40,000 crore in 2011-2012 to R33,000 crore in the Budget presented by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee for 2012-2013.

J&K gets bridge factory, Institute for Tunnel & Bridge Engineering, Train to reach Katra, Banihal in upcoming financial year
Udhampur-Rohila Express converted into tri-weekly

Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi said today that prestigious rail project to Kashmir valley was likely to be delayed for want of adequate funding as he pointed out that Railways was passing through financial crunch and a very tough period.

The Railway Budget has yet again failed to provide any budgetary provision for new rail lines despite a feasibility survey having been completed by the Railways.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has termed the Railway Budget as anti-people and anti-poor stating that the increase in railway fares will hit every section.