-Outlook An Odisha minister today dubbed as impractical direct electronic Cash transfer of subsidies to beneficiaries in backward regions. "How can it be possible when a large number of people in Odisha do not have bank accounts?" Odisha's Food minister P K Deb questioned. "The basic objective of the public distribution system to arrest hunger among the poor will be defeated if the beneficiaries are provided cash instead of cheap food," the minister...

-PTI Integrating unique identification number project “Aadhaar” with various social sector schemes like rural employment guarantee programme and PDS, would yield rich dividends for the government, says a study. According to cost benefit analysis study done by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), the investment on Aadhaar project would provide a return of as high as 52.85 per cent to the government. Substantial benefits would accrue to the government by...

-The Hindustan Times The UPA government's ambitious unique identification or Aadhaar project would result in saving of about Rs. 1,10,000 crore by 2020, around 58% of expenditure of major public welfare schemes, a Planning Commission study released on Saturday said. The Prime Minister's Office had given April 2014 as the deadline for disbursing Cash transfer through the UIDAI platform for all major government schemes. A cost benefit analysis done by the National...

-The Pioneer Integrating unique identification number project “Aadhaar” with various social sector schemes like rural employment guarantee programme and PDS would yield rich dividends for the government according to cost benefit analysis study done by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP). “After taking into account all the costs, and making modest assumptions about leakages, the study finds that the Aadhaar project would yield an internal rate of return of 52.85...

-Mainstream Weekly Dr Binayak Sen, an internationally renowned medical practitioner and social activist (a leading figure in the People’s Union for Civil Liberties), was incarcerated in Chhattisgarh and held in detention in Raipur having been branded as a Maoist for his activities in defence of poor tribals in the State. He is now out on bail. The following is the text of the Arvind Narayan Das Memorial Lecture he delivered in...