Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee took on the food ministry and publicly backed UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani's proposal to set up a new independent agency manned by professionals to computerise the public distribution system (PDS) as part of the reforms agenda and use the Aadhaar number as a base for the changes. Mukherjee was speaking at the meeting of state agriculture and food ministers in Delhi on Wednesday. TOI had earlier reported how...
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White paper on black money likely in budget session
-The Hindustan Times The government is drafting the framework of a “white paper” on black money that it is likely to present before Parliament in the forthcoming budget session. The white paper, however, is unlikely to disclose any names of individuals or entities, despite the opposition’s demand to make public the names of those who are found have to stashed money in banks in overseas tax havens, sources told HT. The finance...
More »Pawar flags food law challenges
-The Telegraph The proposed food security law may not succeed unless the government revamps the public distribution system (PDS) and creates back-up infrastructure, Sharad Pawar said today about the bill seen as a Sonia Gandhi pet project. “I will be failing in my duty if I do not emphasise the food security act will never succeed in achieving its goals in letter and spirit if we try to push the same through...
More »Agri Min pitches for crop loan at 3% in Budget
-PTI In its Budget wish-list, the Agriculture Ministry has demanded lowering of interest rate on crop loans to 3% for those farmers who pay in time, from the existing 4%. According to sources, the ministry has suggested an additional 1% interest subvention (subsidy) on short-term crop loans of up to Rs 3 lakh to farmers who pay their dues on time. Other farmers get crop loans at seven% interest rate. The 2012-13 Budget...
More »Elusive jobs by TK Rajalakshmi
It is getting harder for jobseekers to return to gainful employment and for new entrants to find adequate jobs, says the ILO. THERE is little in the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) annual projection of job growth to cheer about. The year 2012 has been described as a year of stark reality. A third of the global workforce is currently unemployed or poor; that is, 200 million members of the 3.3-billion-strong global...
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