-Business Standard Government's financial inclusion mission is well intentioned, but it may be putting a severe strain on the banking sector Sometime in August, a rumour went around a small village near Alwar in Rajasthan and in some other parts of the country: "Sarkar jo kala dhan wapas layegi, woh Jan Dhan yojana ke khaato mein baanta jayega" (When the government brings back black money, it will be distributed among Jan Dhan...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) a flagship programme of his government, BJP-ruled states seem to be lagging behind in linking these accounts with Aadhaar - the first step towards enabling direct benefit transfers. Among the large states which accounted for over 10 lakh Jan Dhan accounts as on November 12, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh top the list,...

-The Hindu Business Line The Centre has adopted a pragmatic approach to cooking gas subsidies The reintroduction of the direct benefits transfer scheme for the supply of cooking gas, after its withdrawal in March this year, is a welcome signal that subsidy targeting is back on the policy agenda. Unlike its UPA avatar, cash transfers will now be based on LPG consumers providing their bank account numbers, rather than Aadhaar numbers, to...

In the midst of national debates over the need for labour laws reforms and the efficacy of MG-NREGA in checking distress migration, a new report brings spotlight on the miserable living and working conditions of unorganized migrant workers from Rajasthan. Titled Their Own Country: A Profile of Labor Migration from Rajasthan, the report prepared jointly by Aajeevika Bureau and UNESCO informs us that 70% of seasonal migrant workers from Rajasthan...

-Business Standard New schemes allows consumers without Aadhaar to receive cash directly in their Bank Accounts The government is to launch the modified version of the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme (DBT) for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in 54 districts across the country from tomorrow. The government hopes to cut down on large scale diversion of subsidised domestic cooking gas that does not make Aadhaar number mandatory. Earlier version of the scheme that was rolled...