-The Telegraph The Centre has turned down the Mamata Banerjee government’s request to allot additional foodgrain to keep the state’s pet project of supplying grains at a subsidised rate to about 20 lakh people running in 2012-13. Although these people are “needy”, according to the state government, they are not part of the BPL category (annual income of less than Rs 30,000). The Mamata government gives rice at a subsidised rate of...

-The Economic Times The NGOs and experts working in water sector have welcomed the idea of promoting private investment in irrigation sector. "There is need and large scope for participation of private sector in the irrigation sector. The success will however will depend upon how the details are worked out taking views of local people and NGOs into consideration," said Dr Madhav Chitale, former secretary, Ministry of Water Resources.  The Finance Minister...

-PTI The UIDAI's Aadhaar project for providing unique identity numbers to residents, has huge potential to improve the delivery of social sector schemes like rural employment guarantee, the Economic Survey 2011-12 said. "Aadhaar has huge potential for improving operations and delivery of services," the survey said. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), attached to the Planning Commission, is engaged in providing residents in the country a Unique Identification number (called Aadhaar) linked...

Most of us don’t even get a single shot at making history — Manmohan Singh has a second chance The fiscal deficit is an outcome, not a policy. It is the net resolution of the policies pertaining to taxes and expenditure. It is worth analysing separately the two components of the deficit. The table reports the results of relating the tax and expenditure share of GDP to per capita income for...

-The Indian Express Former Uttar Pradesh minister Babu Singh Kushwaha has alleged that he was "tortured" in CBI custody during interrogations. "CBI tortured us during interrogations for ten days," said the sacked BSP minister, while he along with another accused, former BSP MLA Ram Pratap Jaiswal, were being taken to Dasna prison on Tuesday. While talking to media at the entry gate of the prison, Kushwaha said that both of them gave full...