-The Hindu Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s budget for 2013-14 will be remembered not only for its strategies to stimulate economic growth and control fiscal deficit, but also for the importance given to the needs of the underprivileged sections of our society. In the field of agriculture, he has adopted the following three pronged strategy: 1. Defend the gains already made in the original green revolution areas like Punjab and Haryana: For this purpose...

-The Hindu Out of 20,000 beneficiaries in Ajmer district, only 220 actually received cash Accusing the government of “forcing” people to enrol for an Aadhaar number, social activist and National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy says the performance of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme in the first two months has been “dismal,” resulting in “exclusion” of poor beneficiaries. Ms. Roy, a vociferous opponent of linking Aadhaar with welfare delivery, expressed her concerns...

-The Business Standard The Union Budget shows the charitable instincts of the government continuing to overwhelm it - though some would call it part inefficiency and part helplessness. The exemptions given to citizens on the tax they ought to pay have been exceeding the Plan expenditure, and even the total fiscal deficit as it did in 2012-13. This has prompted criticism from the Left parties and activists, who view it as evidence...

-FeministsIndia.com Saluting Professor Lotika Sarkar who fought to make the country’s laws uphold gender justice and women’s rights Professor Lotika Sarkar who played a central role in several path-breaking and crucial legislations for gender justice and empowerment of women during 1975-2005, passed away at the age of 90 on 23rd February 2013. In the women’s rights movement, she was known as Lotikadee. When other stalwarts of women’s studies touched our hearts with...

-The Times of India Railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Tuesday announced many initiatives in his Rail Budget 2013 speech that will bring cheer to middle-income passengers. From better e-ticketing facilities to free wi-fi on select trains, the Railway Budget will lead to implementation of many passenger friendly measures. Here is a look at some of them: 1) e-ticketing through mobile phones. Project of SMS alerts to passengers providing updates on reservation status. In...