-CivilSocietyOnline.com For the past decade state governments have launched a series of Internet-based initiatives to deliver services more efficiently. Technology has been seen as the best way of bypassing red tape and corruption in the system to reach the poor directly with benefits. Beneficiaries are identified through biometrics and a series of tech solutions like smart cards, micro ATMs and so on. The result of these efforts is that India is...
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Can 8 poor Chhattisgarh tribals own 44 acres of land: wonders HC -Ejaz Kaiser
-The Hindustan Times Raipur (Chhattisgarh): Eight poor Gond tribals suddenly find themselves in the spotlight: they are the ‘owners' of 43.7 hectares of land worth several crores of rupees, at Pusaur in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh. Ironically, they still seek employment under the welfare scheme MGNREGA. The land in question was used for constructing the 600-MW Korba West Power Co Ltd, a coal-fired power plant, by the Avantha (Thapar) group. Last month,...
More »How the biometric system has failed hard working people -R Krishna Kumar
-The Hindu Mysore (Karnataka): The much-lauded biometric ration card system is believed to be fool proof and expected to bring the public distribution system (PDS) in step with the digital era. However, ironically, the feedback from the ground indicates that it is rejecting the poor and the impoverished it was intended to benefit. The biometric authentication system installed at the PDS outlets fails to establish the identity of many genuine beneficiaries, mostly...
More »Question of survival -TK Rajalakshmi
-Frontline Despite the negative observations and criticisms, there is a strong case for MGNREGS works to be continued even in States with high per capita incomes. Hisar and Fatehabad: CONTRARY to general opinion, demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is high in Haryana. Contrary also to the views in recent discussion papers, one of them commissioned by the Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices...
More »Hate speech case fixed to help Varun, says Tehelka
-IANS BJP leader Varun Gandhi, who was acquitted of all charges of making hate speeches before the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, "brazenly subverted the entire judicial process to get his name cleared," according to an expose by news magazineTehelka. The magazine on Wednesday said its "investigation proves that not only did Varun make the venomous speeches he is accused of, he has compounded the original wrong by brazenly subverting the entire judicial...
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