-Outlook Dudu (Rajasthan): Rajasthan government today said that in a phase wise manner it will make mandatory Aadhaar number for people applying for ten important services or schemes in the state. Aadhaar would be made compulsory for applying for pension schemes of old age, widow, differently abled, MgNREGA job card, ration card, driving license, water and electricity connections, property registration, Indira Awas Yojna, scholarships in future, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said. "This will...

-The Business Standard The government needs to be braver with cash transfers On October 20, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to launch the first major step in integrating the Unique ID, or Aadhaar, with government welfare schemes. The event is supposed to take place in Dudu, a town in Jaipur district in Congress-ruled Rajasthan. The presence of Congress President Sonia Gandhi also seems to suggest that the United Progressive Alliance...

-The Hindu On Tuesday, Bhojan Yatra, a campaign demanding a comprehensive food security bill, reached here after travelling through Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. In a rally, organised from Bistupur to Ram Mandir maidan, Right to Food (RTF) activists demanded that the proposed National Food Security Bill (NFSB) give universal access to food instead of capping it at 67 per cent of the population. They demanded that 8.2 crore metric tonnes of food...

-Outlook Expressing concern over complaints of corruption in MgNREGA projects, Union Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh today said the government has decided to conduct audit of ten per cent of villages on a random basis every year. Speaking to reporters after participating in 'Nirmal Bharat Yatra' at a village near here, Ramesh said, "I am concerned about complaints of corruption in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme from various states. At...

-PTI UNITED NATIONS: The UPA government that has been facing brickbats from the opposition parties has got a compliment from BJP leader L K Advani for its flagship programme, MgNREGA, which he said has helped empower rural people and revive economic growth. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MgNREGA), enacted in August 2005, has been touted as a flagship programme by the UPA government. Advani said the scheme is the largest cash...