-Frontline The Congress-led UPA seems to be betting heavily on the cash transfer scheme as a means to return to power in the next general elections. DECEMBER 2012 may go down in history as the month when the Congress party created its own “India Shining” moment: the moment when it started believing its own hype, and even deluded itself into thinking that its perception was so widely shared that it could provide...

-Outlook Opposing direct cash transfer and FDI in retail, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh today said inordinate delay in decision making and complicated procedures for statutory clearances were hurting the country's economy growth and investor sentiment. He told a meeting of National Development Council (NDC) here, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, that the 12th plan has been made on "patronage model" and impinges on the autonomy of the states by making...

-Outlook The National Water Resources Council chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to adopt tomorrow the draft National Water Policy, 2012 that stresses on the need to evolve a broad over-arching national legal framework on water. The draft announced by the government in January this year was revised twice based on the recommendations made by the National Water Board. The Prime Minister chairs the meeting of the Council which has all...

-Right to Food Campaign   Chhattisgarh upstaged the Centre yesterday by enacting the Chhattisgarh Food Security Act (CFSA), an improved version of the "National Food Security bill" that has been languishing in Parliament for more than a year. Under the CFSA, about 90% of the population of Chhattisgarh will have PDS entitlements, mostly under the Priority and Antyodaya categories, entitled to 35 kgs of foodgrains per month at a token price...

-The Hindu Chhattisgarh passes improved Food Security Bill The Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh has stolen a march over the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre by enacting the Chhattisgarh Food Security Act, 2012, which provides for food entitlements to all Antyodaya households, priority households and general households without prescribing any limit on the percentage of beneficiaries in the vulnerable social groups. The Bill that was passed by State Assembly on Friday,...