-The Hindu India’s roads are deadlier than ever. The high rates of death and disability expose the lack of an organised system of traffic management and safety. Road safety is no one’s responsibility. It is time to make someone accountable. On the final day of this year’s ‘puja’ season in Chennai, a particular roadside temple near the iconic Central Railway Station had the long annual line of vehicles — vans, tempos, taxis,...

-The Deccan Hearld Just days after the government launched the Aadhaar enabled cash transfer system; a national panel has been set up on Thursday to expedite implementation of the direct electronic cash transfer system to help beneficiaries under various welfare schemes. According to a PMO statement, The National Committee on Direct Cash Transfer, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will identify the schemes to be covered and oversee the smooth rollout of...

-The Times of India Everyone agrees that India needs to deliver social protection to the aam admi; the forthcoming Food Security Bill is one such attempt. Everyone also agrees that the government service delivery pipelines are riddled with leakages and largescale corruption. Direct cash transfers have been proposed as a way to remedy this defective system. However, as could be expected, the debate has become polarised, with one side believing that cash...

-The Hindu The proposal for an urban health initiative with focus on primary health care for the urban poor has been cleared by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) and will soon be placed before the Cabinet. This was announced by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad during a meeting of the Mission Steering Group of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) here on Tuesday. There has been an on-going tussle...

-The Indian Express Unhappy over the Planning Commission attempt to convert flagship schemes of the Union Ministry for Rural Development from Centrally-sponsored schemes to additional Central assistance schemes, Minister Jairam Ramesh has shot off a strongly-worded letter to Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the commission.   Apprehending that such a move will transfer the financial control of schemes such as MGNREGA and PMGSY to the Finance Ministry, Ramesh in his letter said,...