To banish hunger and malnutrition from the country, Parliament is likely to pass the National Food Security Bill (NFSB). In our earlier article on this issue, Can we Afford Rs 6-Lakh-Cr Food Subsidy Bill in 3 Yrs? (ET, December 17, 2011), we concentrated on the likely financial implication that we estimated at roughly Rs 6,00,000 crore over a period of three years. In this piece, we address the operational challenges...
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Off target by TK Rajalakshmi
A study questions the efficacy of conditional Cash transfer schemes in promoting the girl child. IN an attempt to address some of the serious imbalances in society, specifically the gender imbalance, the Central and State governments have embarked on several short-term conditional Cash transfer (CCT) schemes in the past decade and a half. While the Central government is convinced about the efficacy of the schemes aimed at arresting the distorted sex...
More »Tracker controversy by TK Rajalakshmi
The use of tracker technology to zero in on the misuse of diagnostic techniques for sex determination has evoked mixed reactions. ONE of the least discussed issues in the context of the data thrown up by Census 2011 is the worrisome decline in the child sex ratio (CSR) and the not-too-perfect implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, or PCPNDT Act. There is reason to...
More »Bail for Essar manager by Jaideep Hardikar
A Dantewada district court yesterday granted bail to D.V.C.S. Verma, the general manager of an Essar Steel plant, who was arrested last September in a case of alleged protection pay to Maoists. The court said investigators had not been able to provide any concrete evidence against the official. Chhattisgarh police had arrested Verma based on the statement of a local contractor, B.K. Lala, who was allegedly caught red-handed while paying Rs 15...
More »A Real Priority by Bhaskar Dutta
The Union government has tabled two bills in the Lok Sabha in the last week of the winter session. Since one of them is the lok pal bill, it has hijacked virtually all the public attention. This is a pity for two reasons. First, there is considerable doubt whether the lok pal bill — in any form — can really be the magic solution that Team Anna would like us...
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