-The Times of India The government is moving rapidly to enable Cash Transfers through the Aadhar platform with 51 districts to be covered by January 1, 2013, and half the country four months later — a bid to rollout an initiative aimed at streamlining subsidies while also earning votes. The plan is to put money directly into bank accounts of beneficiaries of government schemes like scholarships, cheap food under the Public Distribution...

-The Hindustan Times It will be mandatory for LPG connection-holders to have a bank account, and later an Aadhaar number, to claim the annual subsidy of about Rs. 3,000 for six cylinders. A senior government official told HT that the approval of the Cabinet will be sought shortly to introduce the rule, which will apply to all families. Once it comes into force, you will have to pay the full cost of the subsidised...

-Pratirodh.com The fanfare with which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi launched a service delivery scheme in Rajasthan based on the Aadhaar (foundation) unique identity (UID), and celebrated the issue of the first Aadhaar number topping the 200-million mark, should make the Indian National Congress a very worried party indeed—assuming it has a good survival instinct and basic grasp of practical politics.    To put it starkly, the Congress and...

-The Hindu Robert Vadra may be the most talked about property developer in Haryana but the emergence of links between the man who sold Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law his first plot of land and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has shone a spotlight on the crucial role played by the Congress-run government in turning realty in the State into a business worth thousands of crores of rupees. Records of all licences granted...

-PTI Pitching for direct Cash Transfer of food subsidy, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Tuesday assured this would not result in dismantling of current system of procuring grains at minimum support price (MSP) and distribution through PDS. "...about the Cash Transfer (of subsidy), the accusation is that you want to dismantle the PDS. This is completely wrong because there is no question of dismantling the minimum support prices," Ahluwalia...