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...

-DNA As cases of denial of information under the Right to Information Act pile up, the Reserve Bank of India approached various courts as many as nine times against the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) orders directing it to provide information. Seven of these cases are now pending in the Delhi High Court while two are in the Bombay High Court. Not only has the RBI preferred litigation against providing information, the central...

-Outlook Koraput (Odisha): Inquiry conducted by the administration has shown serious irregularities in implementing MGNREGA at Lamtapur block in Odisha's Koraput district, officials said today. Projects worth several lakhs of rupees have been started at various panchayats of the block under the MGNREGA without any work order being issued. "It was found during inquiry that without any work order and funds several works have been executed at the block under the MGNREGA. Work...

-The Indian Express Two weeks before the direct cash transfer is unveiled in 43 districts, a partial list available with The Indian Express reveals generation of Aadhaar numbers has been erratic till November 30. Faced with low registration in some states, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has reportedly asked the state governments to focus on enrolling only those who will benefit from the 34 schemes covered under the direct...

-The Indian Express Patna: Out of 534 block development officers posted across Bihar, 181 or one-third are currently facing probe — mostly for alleged misuse and misappropriation of fund meant for the Indira Awas Yojana. In fact, 58 BDOs face corruption charges for their dubious role in the implementation of IAY. This was revealed in an RTI query by Buxur resident Shiv Prakash Rai, who had asked for a list of...