Exercise begins in June, but beneficiaries of govt schemes will still be those identified as poor by Plan panel India has embarked on an exerciseto identify the poor that will in reality end up choosing who will be eligible for benefits and who won’t, an outcome that could be controversial. The Union cabinet on Thursday approved the launch in June of a census to identify those living below the poverty line (BPL),...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Fighting Corruption by SL Rao
Tihar jail today has the largest collection of charged or convicted top officials, a powerful ex-minister, sundry politicians and officials. Maharashtra had a teflon-coated chief minister who was ‘sacked’ to a cabinet post in Delhi after being long untouched by many scandals. Another just exited. A former Jharkhand chief minister is in jail on charges of looting his state treasury and accumulating funds abroad. The powerful founder of the Nationalist...
More »Corruption, bribes have become a way of life: Survey
The grievance redress system in the country is “poor” and public service providers “lack accountability”. This is indicated by the fact that 95 per cent of the households that were asked to pay a bribe ended up doing so. This is revealed by a new survey, ‘India Corruption Study: 2010', prepared by the Centre for Media Studies. The report, based on a survey of around 10,000 households across 12 major cities,...
More »Mixed report card on NREGS by Alok Ray
The scheme has reduced rural migration and promoted financial inclusion, but needs to create more durable assets. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) – the only government social welfare scheme named after the other Gandhi, not belonging to Nehru-Gandhi family – has recently completed five years. The performance of the scheme, considered a major pillar of UPA government's strategy of inclusive growth, has been a matter of debate. The...
More »Can India prevent 200 children dying every hour? by Poonam Khetrapal-Singh
It is estimated that India lost 1.8 million children under five in 2008. That is more than 200 child deaths every hour, each day, or more than three deaths every minute. Out of about 25 million babies born every year in India, one million die. Most who survive do not get to grow up and develop well. About 48 per cent are stunted (sub-normal height) and 43 per cent are...
More »