THE government seems to be considering a new system to replace the present system of targeted public distribution system (TPDS) with food coupons or direct cash transfer. The ills that plague the present TPDS are well-known and well-documented. The two national surveys, one by Programme Evaluation Organisation of the Planning Commission and the other by ORG-Marg, both at the instance of the Union government, have identified the major problem areas...
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Public-Private-Panchayat Partnership for inclusive growth by Harsh Singh
India grapples with endemic backwardness in over 200 districts while some sectors and sections make global headlines. The Centre on Market Solutions to Poverty's report, Creating Vibrant Public-Private-Panchayat Partnerships for Inclusive Growth through Inclusive Governance explores this paradox by looking at the ground-level realities in local governance through the Panchayati Raj, the issues of agricultural productivity and value addition, and the role that the business sector could play in rural...
More »Government's food subsidy bill likely to double by Sreelatha Menon
Various estimates of the extra cost to the government for an improved food security Bill are doing the rounds, but many agree the Union government’s proposed food subsidy bill would double. The proposed Bill offers 25 kg per family per month at Rs 3 a kg, to only families below the poverty line, or about 84 million households. Activists are insisting this be raised to 35 kg a family and to...
More »‘Calculate eligible BPL families for Rs. 3 a kg food grains' by Gargi Parsai
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Friday urged the Planning Commission to work out the number of Below Poverty Line (BPL) households and the households' size that would be eligible for Rs. 3 per kg discounted food grains under the proposed National Food Security Bill. The Tendulkar Committee report had placed the BPL percentage at 37.2 which, at 2005 population and household size, works out to about 7.14 crore households...
More »Sonia effect? Plan panel raises BPL bar by Nitin Sethi & Mahendra Kumar Singh
The uncertainty over the number of people to benefit from the proposed food security law has abated. With Sonia Gandhi in her new role as National Advisory Council chairperson keeping a vigil, the Planning Commission on Saturday dropped its reluctance to accept Tendulkar committee's report putting the size of the below poverty line (BPL) population at 37.2%. The Planning Commission had so far been keen on going with its own...
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