-TheWire.in Given the negative impact biometric point of sales machines have had in Jharkhand and Rajasthan, the group urged Bihar to continue its own PDS reforms. A group of economists and social scientists have urged Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to not buckle under pressure from the Centre to use Aadhaar-based point of sales (PoS) machines for the Distribution of rations under the public Distribution system (PDS). These machines have been found...
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Dark clouds over the PDS -Jean Dreze
-The Hindu The imposition of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication in the Public Distribution System threatens to disrupt recent progress with PDS reforms. It also deprives millions of people of essential food entitlements. India’s Public Distribution System (PDS) has improved steadily during the last 10 years. The system used to be most ineffective and corruption-ridden, with leakages of around 50 per cent at the national level, going up to 80 or 90 per cent...
More »The foreign hand isn't enough -Alex M Thomas
-The Hindu The pursuit of full employment of labour cannot primarily rely on domestic private investment, much less FDI. Only public investment will steady us in the long run. We are increasingly told that the inflow of capital — particularly the foreign direct investment (FDI) variety — increases employment levels and contributes to economic growth. In a rare interview given to The Wall Street Journal in May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reinforced...
More »Expenditure on freebies not transparent: Report
-The Hindu The government incurred an expenditure of about Rs. 5,049 crore in 2014-15. Chennai: The State’s accounting of expenditure on freebies is not clear and does not transparently disclose the nature of details, said the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report for the year ended March 2015. The report pointed out schemes like free Distribution of laptops, marriage assistance schemes, free supply of grinders, mixies, fans, Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health...
More »Poor forest rights act implementation hampers social justice to the tribals
Access to land and its resources is important since it determines the extent of poverty and deprivation one faces. Historically tribal populations and other traditional forest dwellers did not enjoy any legal entitlement such as ownership rights or user rights of the forest lands where they had been living since ages, both communally and individually. The Forest Rights Act (FRA) is, thus, seen as a progressive legislation that attempted to...
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