-The Hindu Plan likely to be part of interim Budget New Delhi: Ahead of the 2019 election, the Rural Development Ministry has proposed that the monthly pensions of the elderly poor, disabled and widows be increased from the current Rs.200 to Rs.800. For those above the age of 80, the proposal is to increase the pension from Rs.500 to Rs.1,200 a month. The Ministry has submitted the proposal, which would have an...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Another Budget, Another Year of Ignoring Binding Laws on Rights -Nikhil Dey and Aruna Roy
-TheWire.in The making of the Union Budget has been a far too secretive and hidden exercise. Social sector expenditure and allocations related to policy announcements should be matters of open ongoing debate. On December 20, 2017, a group of 60 eminent economists sent an open letter to the finance minister stating: “We are writing to draw your attention to two urgent priorities for the forthcoming budget.” The first was to increase the central...
More »'13.5 crore Aadhaar accounts compromised' -Mayur Shetty
-The Times of India MUMBAI: Cyberspace security experts are worried about the risk to customers using Aadhaar numbers and one-time passwords for authentication of financial transactions after it was revealed that a large cache of Aadhaar numbers had become public. Bengaluru-based think tank, Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), has published a report highlighting how 13.5 crore Aadhaar accounts have been exposed by government departments. The report, by Amber Sinha and Srinivas Kodali,...
More »Eligible beneficiaries dropped from pension list in Rajasthan
It was a Rashomon moment for the readers of the First Common Review Mission report when they heard activists complaining about the pension system of Rajasthan during a recent press conference held in the capital. The First Common Review Mission (CRM) report, which was prepared during the month of May this year by a team of 32 experts had observed that pension related payments under the National Social Assistance Programmes (NSAP)...
More »Additional days of work available under MGNREGS not taken up in drought hit states
Two back-to-back reports that shed light on the status of MGNREGA implementation in the country, have been released recently from the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). A review of MGNREGA implementation in 8 different states of India by a team of experts during the month of May this year reveals that in many of the drought affected districts, the Gram Panchayats have no work to offer under the programme. (Please click...
More »