Bihar will roll out unique identification numbers for "aam aadmi" -- beneficiaries of social sector schemes -- within 35-36 months. The move will help in curbing pilferage and corruption. The decision was taken at a meeting of Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. The Commission has finalised Rs 24,000 crore plan size for the state for next fiscal. Kumar cited that the plan size was...

In a move aimed at a focussed targeting of subsidies for the country's poor, the government on Monday announced the setting up of an inter-ministerial task force under Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman Nandan Nilekani. It will work out a suitable mechanism to provide direct subsidies on kerosene, cooking gas (LPG) and fertilizers for the intended beneficiaries. In a statement here, the Finance Ministry said the task force was set...

In a bid to check wasteful fuel and fertiliser subsidy and reach it to the intended beneficiaries , the government has set up a task force to suggest a suitable mechanism of direct transfer of subsidy to the consumers. The task force will be headed by Nandan Nilekani , Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India ( UIDAI )) and has been asked to submit an interim report within four months....

In 2-3 years after implementation, money generation was seen Melaneelithanallur village in Tirunelveli district is bone dry most of the year. Lack of water for crops over the years turned the soil into dry wastelands, considered unfit for use. “Until a few years ago, almost all the farmers in the region wallowed in debt and poverty. Many households lacked even proper metal utensils for cooking as the inhabitants used to pawn...

The Union Ministry for Rural Development has set up a committee to consider afresh the suggestions made by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to strengthen the process of social auditing of expenditure under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and check corrupt practices. “Old game” Civil society leaders charge that the Ministry and the bureaucracy are at their old game of endlessly delaying the process by...