-The Times of India How much would it cost the central government to provide grain to the whole country at affordable prices? A calculation by the Delhi-based advocacy group Centre for Budget & Governance Accountability (CBGA) puts the figure at Rs 2,38,471 crore for one year. In the current financial year (2012-13), the Centre spent Rs 75,366 crore on the food subsidy, that is, about 0.74% of the gross domestic product....
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MGNREGA’s second innings-N Chandra Mohan
-The Business Standard Implement it with watershed development schemes to alleviate poverty The United Progressive Alliance government appears to be upbeat regarding the prospects of its flagship scheme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which provides a universal, self-targeting guarantee of 100 days of employment to every household in all rural districts of India. “MGNREGA has tremendous potential to increase agricultural production, which we have not been able to...
More »India can learn from others, tax policies should boost women empowerment-Lubna Kably
-The Times of India The Companies Bill, 2012, passed by the Lok Sabha a few months ago, has recognised the importance of diversity in the board room. Certain class of companies will soon be required to have at least one woman director on board. The EU has long recognised the value that women directors bring to the table. But, policies need to be reworked even at the ground level. With the budget...
More »Battle over turf muddies waters-Bharti Jain & Sidhartha
-The Times of India When the PMO was finalizing the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme in October using Aadhaar as the basic platform, at least three other agencies suggested they could implement the new plan equally well. The home ministry's NPR plan prompted the government to divide the work of issuing ID cards in two segments, shrugging off the department of financial services' suggestion that banks and debit cards could be used...
More »TN reiterates reservations about Food Security Bill
-The Hindu “Allocation for urban population should be made on a par with rural population” Reiterating its reservations over the National Food Security Bill, Tamil Nadu on Wednesday said it is for raising the coverage of urban population under the Bill from 50 per cent to 75 per cent. At a conference of State Food Ministers in New Delhi on Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Minister for Food R. Kamaraj, who began his speech referring...
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