-The Hindu "No person should be denied any benefits or "suffer" for not having the Aadhaar cards issued by Unique Identification Authority of India." Clearing all doubts about the validity of Aadhaar card to avail of government subsidies, the Supreme Court on Monday confirmed that the Aadhar card is not compulsory, and further, officials who insist on them will be taken to task. A fuming Supreme Court issued a stern warning to the...

-Business Standard Budget of NITI Aayog may go up by 18.20% in 2015-16 In a classic case of back to basics, the National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), which since 2010 has been part of the erstwhile Planning Commission, will henceforth be an arm of the department of agriculture, as NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog is up for a rejig. NRAA's budget in 2014-15 was about Rs 31.50 crore, while...

-Hindustan Times The government's fiscal management plan in the budget could see a roadmap on extending the controversial cash transfer schemes from just entitlements to subsidies, a move that could add fuel to the already surcharged atmosphere over the land acquisition bill. The finance ministry has issued instructions to bring all Central schemes having a financial component under the direct benefit transfer (DBT) from April, apparently to plug leakages and to keep...

Following the recommendations of the Shanta Kumar Committee report on restructuring of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), there are signs that the Central Government is in a hurry to replace the Public Distribution System (PDS) with cash transfers. The Government's intention has been revealed in two official letters (one dated 10 February 2015 and another dated 11 February 2015) that were sent from the Joint Secretary at Department of...

-The Financial Express The Supreme Court's direction comes at a time when the Modi government appears to be have a re-think on the Aadhaar card scheme. (Reuters) The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Narendra Modi government to clear its stand on whether it intends to continue with the UPA government's plan to allow Aadhar as proof of identity for direct transfer of cash for social welfare schemes. Amid a fresh PIL challenging...