-The Hindu The Modi government is determined to dismantle the two-pronged welfare paradigm. It is now an established fact that one area where the Narendra Modi administration has acted with a sense of purpose, urgency and resolve is in slashing social expenditure. Be it education, health, agriculture, livelihood security, food security, Panchayati Raj institutions, drinking water or the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes sub-plan, central government funds earmarked for social protection have been cut. The...

-Down to Earth The Centre's decision to reduce Panchayati Raj Ministry's budget and transfer its schemes to states has left the ministry bewildered about its job and caught states unprepared for devolution of power IS IT Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to devolve power to states and allow them to design their development programmes according to their priorities, or to make irrelevant a ministry that was created under the regime of the...

-The Telegraph Ranchi: Over 300,000 children aged between six and 14 years are still out of school in Jharkhand, fresh data tabulated by the HRD department this year has revealed, prompting the state government to pursue its annual enrolment drive for students with renewed vigour and under a new name. Today, chief minister Raghubar Das relaunched the state's enrolment campaign, earlier called School Chale Hum Abhiyan, as Vidyalaya Chale, Chalayen Abhiyan with...

-The Indian Express Jaipur: The hotly debated Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Amendment Bill 2015 fixing minimum educational qualifications for contesting Panchayat polls in the state, was passed by the state legislative assembly on Friday. With this Rajasthan becomes the only state to have mandatory minimum educational qualifications to contest for Panchayat polls. The Bill was passed by a voice vote by the dominant ruling party even as Opposition legislators raised objections to it...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The cup that cheers proved to be hotter than expected for the government today as it came under pressure to amend a central act to regularise wages of tea labourers. Congress MP from Assam Pankaj Bora demanded a timeframe within which the government would amend the Plantations Labour Act to ensure protection for tea garden workers. The question came up in the Rajya Sabha when labour and employment minister...