With the work on the socio-economic development in the three Maoist-affected districts in West Bengal gathering pace, the State government said on Tuesday that it would complete by September the distribution of Ration cards to poor tribals living there. Home Secretary Samar Ghosh told reporters that stress was on the distribution of Ration cards, and the work progressed well. “This is part of the scheme formulated for the three districts within...

Among the various definitions of "noise" is this one: "Something that draws public notice". And "Making Noise" is precisely what groups all over India are doing, or planning to do, in the days ahead in order to wake up the government to its promises. In the year 2000, India was among the countries that had signed on to achieve, by 2015, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals...

174 lakh bogus cards were cancelled in various States in the last one year Ministry tells States, Union Territories to issue ads in newspapers The Centre has warned bogus Ration card holders to surrender their cards or face penal action. As part of a campaign, the government has cancelled about 174 lakh bogus Ration cards in various States in the last one year. In a recent letter to the States and Union Territories, the...

Concerned over the huge mismatch between the Central estimate of 6.5 crores below poverty line families and the 11 crores BPL cards issued by the states under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), the food ministry has warned all the bogus card holders to surrender them or face criminal prosecution. The warning has been issued following the Supreme Court’s directive on August 31 asking the government to reform the TPDS and...

Maharashtra's deadline for the completion of the Unique Identification Number (UID) project seems to be escalating even as the Prime Minister is set to launch the project by the month-end from Nandurbar. In the last month, Ashok Chavan, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, had said during a function that the State will start issuing UID cards by November 1, 2010. But Anil Deshmukh, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection,...