-The Indian Express When a Delhi couple went to get their marriage registered at the office of the Kapashera sub-divisional magistrate on Tuesday morning, their request was turned down. They were told they lacked an eligibility criterion — they did not have Aadhaar cards. An order, which came into effect on January 1, clearly states that “the Aadhaar card information of applicants should be mentioned in the prescribed application forms for registration...

-The Hindu Only 75% of MGNREGS workers have been enrolled; many without Aadhaar number denied access to benefits GOLLAPROLU (EAST GODAVARI, AP): The popular tagline for the Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) is Aam aadmi ka paisa, aam aadmi ke haath (People’s money in their own hands). The DBT pilot project was launched in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh earlier this month, with Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh hailing the scheme...

-The Hindu With a single stroke, the government has made over 3.5 crore existing post office accounts ready for its new Aadhaar-linked cash transfer scheme. The accounts, which belong to MGNREGA workers over the country, were originally to be used only for receiving wages under the rural employment guarantee scheme. However, the government has now woken up to the potential of using the ready-made network of accounts to directly transfer benefits such...

-The Financial Express In a move that could speed up the ambitious direct cash transfer programme, rural development minister Jaiarm Ramesh has suggested other entities such as state governments and banks should be roped in to enroll residents in the Aadhaar system. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ramesh said the direct benefits transfers (DBT) scheme would be successful if multiple registrars are allowed to enroll beneficiaries in the Aadhaar...

-The Financial Express Notwithstanding ‘serious differences’ among its members, a parliamentary panel reviewing the National Food Security Bill, 2011, will submit its report to the Lok Sabha Speaker on Wednesday. The government aims to introduce the Bill in the forthcoming Budget session of Parliament. FE had reported last month that the panel would submit its report by mid-January. The 31-member panel, chaired by Lok Sabha MP Vilas Muttemwar, had been examining the Bill...