-The Business Standard The Union Budget for 2012-13 today reinforced the importance of Uniquie Identification programme, as the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee approved an outlay of around Rs 1,450 crore for Aadhaar. Finance Minister also increased the rollout target for Aadhaar card to an additional 400 million people. The enrolments into the Aadhaar system have already crossed 200 million. “The Aadhaar platform is now ready to support the payments of MGNREGA; old age,...

-The Times of India The finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget speech said that efforts were on to arrive at a political consensus on the issue of allowing 51 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand Retail. The Retail sector of the economy has been constantly pushing for allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand Retail. The Economic Survey 2011-12 also advocated the case for FDI in multi-brand Retail. The much-talked about...

-The Business Standard   Major subsidies extended by the government are likely to jump to Rs 1,34,411 crore during 2011-12 The Survey has warned of deteriorating fiscal health due to a mounting subsidy burden. The huge outgo over the past year has been largely on account of the global rally in crude oil prices, the fertiliser subsidy and state-controlled foodgrain prices, it said. It also blamed ‘coalition politics and federal considerations’ for holding...

-The Hindu ‘But cumbersome anti-graft apparatus can delay decisions'   With a slew of scams vitiating the government's policy-making environment and holding up reforms, the Economic Survey 2011-12 on Thursday advocated need for a ruthless crackdown on corruption, but cautioned that a large and cumbersome anti-corruption bureaucracy could impact decision-making. “While we need to ruthlessly crack down on corruption, it must, at the same time, be recognised that the fear of a large and...

-The Economic Times   Could the Centre freeze the job guarantee scheme during peak agriculture season?  The controversial demand from the agriculture ministry found an echo in the Economic Survey released on Thursday, but was quickly dismissed by rural development minister Jairam Ramesh. While lauding the flagship scheme, the survey listed a few other measures as the way forward. "While the overall performance of MGNREGS has been good, there is scope for improvements...