-The Indian Express New crop insurance scheme is welcome. Its litmus test: Whether crop-damage assessment can be done within two weeks of the extreme weather event and compensation paid a week after that The Narendra Modi-led government needs to be complimented for taking the first major step to revamp the crop insurance system to address the increasing distress in Indian farming. With back-to-back droughts, and unseasonal rain and hail in certain...
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Political funding: There’s trust, but little else -Aditi Nigam
-The Hindu Business Line Electoral Trusts bring some transparency to India Inc’s donations to parties, but more needs to be done New Delhi: India Inc makes big donations to political parties, but very little is made public on the amount or to whom it is given. Electoral Trusts revealing such data were expected to bring in more transparency. A change in income-tax rules in January 2013 paved the way for the setting up...
More »Draft Paris pact stresses ‘voluntary contributions’ -G Ananthakrishnan
-The Hindu India says it is ready for a regime of stocktaking of future carbon emissions. In a clear signal that active diplomacy is at work to forge an agreement in Paris based on voluntary pledges, one that is subject to transparent monitoring, India said on Friday that it was ready for a regime of stocktaking of future carbon emissions. The U.S., on its part, said it had “nothing but respect” for...
More »India less corrupt than China: Survey
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India ranks less corrupt than China for the first time in 18 years, anti-graft organisation Transparency International's annual survey says. The study that includes 175 countries and territories, India was ranked 85 while China came at 100, the Corruption Perceptions Index 2014 said. The Corruption Perceptions Index says that the countries and territories are ranked based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. A...
More »LPG subsidy transfer: Centre’s savings not more than Rs 143 cr, while it claims Rs 12,700 cr -Udit Misra
-The Indian Express The NDA initially reintroduced DBT for LPG in 54 districts in mid-November 2014, with nationwide roll out to all districts from January 2015. A study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) states that the government’s claims of savings due to a shift towards direct benefit transfer (DBT) for LPG (also called PAHAL) are “large overestimates”. IISD has shown that as against the publicly touted figure of...
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