-Live Mint National Advisory Council seeks an institutional audit of the implementation of the Right to Education programme In yet another signal that the ruling Congress party is getting ready for the next general election, the National Advisory Council (NAC), which sets the social agenda for the Union government, has sought an institutional audit of the implementation of the government’s marquee Right to Education (RTE) programme. NAC is headed by Congress party...

-The Times of India JASHPUR (Chhattisgarh): It's a cold, windy morning in Thuthiamba village in the interiors of Jashpur district and Basanti, 20, is clutching her one-year-old son close to her chest for both warmth and comfort. She is ravaged by the thought that the child will grow up never knowing who the father was. Basanti was just 12 when she was taken to New Delhi for domestic work by a woman...

-The Economic Times The government plans to introduce direct cash transfer for food subsidy in six Union Territories and 'willing states' for PDS scheme, taking a key step to plug leakages in welfare schemes. In the pilot project, expected to be rolled out from April, beneficiaries will receive the subsidy amount in their bank accounts, and will buy rice and wheat from the fair price shops. The fair price shops will sell...

-Forbes India A look at the crucial issues involved Over the past three years, India has vigorously debated the merits of having a Unique Identity (UID) number for each citizen and, allied with it, the move towards direct cash transfers (DCT) of subsidies (like food, fuel and fertilizer) and social security endowments, like pensions and scholarships. On January 1, India took its first steps towards UID-enabled direct cash transfers. But the move has...

The total expenditure on central schemes for the poor and on the major subsidies exceeds the states' share of central taxes. These schemes are chronic bad performers due to a culture of immunity in public administration and weakened local governments. Arguing that the poor should be trusted to use these resources better than the state, a radical redirection with substantial direct transfers to individuals and complementary decentralisation to local governments...