-The Economic Times The government's ambitious plan for direct cash transfer of subsidies is facing implementation hurdles even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday set a January 1 deadline to roll out the scheme in 51 districts. While the PM's announcement was a formality, the petroleum ministry has pointed out that once the Cabinet approves the new mechanism on oil and LPG subsidies, it will take 11 months for a rollout. This...
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Bihar govt devises policy to encourage use of solar energy
-PTI PATNA: Suffering huge power shortage, the Bihar government has devised a policy to encourage the use of solar energy in the state that would provide tax incentives for installing such plants on wastelands. The state government has done a survey which revealed that there is a tremendous scope for development of solar energy, energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said. Accordingly, the state government has devised a solar energy promotion policy to popularise...
More »On the money
-The Indian Express The UPA has long been planning a shift to direct cash transfers for poor households, with a view to replacing the 3.23 lakh crore worth of unwieldy subsidies currently in place. Last year, the then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had spoken of the famously inefficient food and fertiliser subsidies, and of a comprehensive overhaul through cash transfers. Now, that plan has been fleshed out further. The prime minister...
More »Virtual menace-Apar Gupta
-The Indian Express The debate about Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, is growing heated. As more cases of its abuse surface, even Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal has begun to mull changes to the act. The key question to be probed is whether individual actions booked under the provision are isolated instances of abuse or the section itself flawed. For that, we need to first explore how...
More »Direct cash transfer of subsidies through Aadhaar from January 1
-The Hindu Direct cash transfer of subsidies through the Aadhaar card would be rolled out in 51 districts across 15 States from January 1, 2013, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram announced on Saturday. The scheme would aim to cover the entire country by the end of 2013, he said. Speaking at the annual Bankers’ Conference (BANCON), Mr. Chidambaram said banks would play an essential role in the direct cash transfer, as every...
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