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NEW DELHI: The ILO Regional Office, jointly with the Union Labour Ministry, has launched a study focussing on the impact of global financial crisis on the employment situation in India.

New York: Dozens of new international standards, including measures to curb dangerous bacteria in food, have been adopted by the United Nations commission on international food standards at the end of a week-long meeting.

New York: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on rich and poor nations to boost efforts to fight poverty and hunger after a new United Nations report shows that recent advances are being threatened by the global economic and food crises.

Some observers of the Punjab scene have started raising questions about the future of the Akali-BJP government which has completed almost half of its five-year term and about Sukhbir Singh Badal again becoming Deputy Chief Minister. Those expecting worst to happen in both cases may, however, be disappointed. There is no danger of government's demise before the next Assembly elections due in January 2012 unless the BJP's 19 MLAs withdraw their support or there is a revolt in Akali Dal or BJP.

KOLKATA: The times are changing. There were certain interest groups and leaders in the Northeastern state of Meghalaya which used to oppose any proposal to link it by rail with the mainland. Not any more, apparently.

If the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay stock exchange (BSE) dropped 600 points after the presentation of the 2009-10 annual budget in Parliament, it is only because of the rough treatment the market speculators received from the government and its old-fashioned finance minister. Obviously, it should not be mistaken for response from the corporate sector to the latest budget proposals.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has given a further stimulus to growth with proposals designed to increase disposable incomes through a range of tax reliefs and a plethora of concessions for the farmers, unorgnised sector, self-help groups, women and senior citizens while providing for a substantial step-up in UPA Government's flagship and social welfare programmes. He put the growth stimulus at an estimated Rs.1,86,000 crores.

Much doubts have been raised about the viability of socially-oriented projects announced by the Indian railways minister, Mamata Banerjee in her annual Budget speech last Friday. One of the reasons which gave an opportunity to her critics is that the minister did not spell out in details in her Budget speech.

LALGARH: There is no denying it. The joint action undertaken by the State as well as central forces to flush out the Maoists has caused great hardships and harassment to innocent people.

The latest data on trade and capital flows reflect a shrinking of India's external sector from September 2008 onwards, reversing the record of comfort over a decade, though it may be entirely attributable to the global economic and financial crisis. It has significantly impinged on growth and social progress. The damage could have been greater but for the rise in reserves buttressed by capital flows (until March 2008), which helped to finance current account deficits and add to the reserve cushion.