-The Times of India The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has sounded an alert over a deficient monsoon, directing ministries to help states facing drought-like situations by operationalizing contingency plans to distribute seeds, augment fodder and power and deal with drinking water shortages. PMO said the monsoon season rainfall is likely to be 92% of the long-term average (LPA), less than the 96% LPA predicted in June that itself was a downgrade from...

-PTI Ineffective grievance redressal remains a concern in implementation of the rural employment scheme MNREGA, says a government report about its ambitious programme aimed at enhancing livelihood security of people living in rural areas. 'MGNREGA Sameeksha', an anthology of research study on UPA's flagship scheme also pointed out that majority of the state governments have not framed grievance redressal rules, as required under the Act, to address the issues of corruption. "Studies point...

-The Hindu It is time disability activism embraced language to debunk the myth that disabled people have unique skill sets A loud round of applause for Aamir Khan for bringing together diverse views on disability in his “Satyamev Jayate” programme. Sprinkled with satire and humour, the TV show was a comment about the wider world from the viewpoint of disabled individuals with exceptional achievements. That said, it is important to evaluate what...

-The Hindustan Times Prime Minister manmohan singh has called a meeting on Wednesday to consider uniform legal entitlement of subsidised foodgrains to 67% of the country's population under the National Food Security Bill. The meeting will discuss whether to accept the alternative plan, suggested by over 30 leading experts and economists, for easy and early implementation of Food Bill, a pet project of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The experts, including plan panel member...

-The Economic Times It was in the mid-eighties that former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi said if the Centre released a rupee for the poor, only 15 paisa reached them. Decades later, not much has changed. With leakages, delays, and uneven implementation of welfare schemes like NREGA, blunting benefits to the poor, the rural development ministry is proposing to put in place a system to assess the effectiveness of the schemes even...