The Chhattisgarh model offers some key lessons on how to make the public distribution system deliverProbably the only thing extraordinary about Manglu is that he is the perfect example of an ordinary tribal. The 60-year-old belongs to the Pahadi Korba tribe and lives in Govindpur village of Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh. He best represents what modern India calls a below poverty line (BPL) beneficiary of various government schemes. Manglu earns...

Farmer Dharamshyam Kujur put the hitherto nondescript village of Doba in Kudu block of Lohardaga district on the banking map of India today as he withdrew Rs 100 from his newly opened account. Watching him create history was Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor D. Subbarao, who, as part of RBI’s ambitious outreach programme aimed at financial inclusion, inaugurated a smart card-based satellite banking system in the village earlier in the...

An Indian serving judge and his family members’ names were reported as beneficiaries of India’s National flagship programme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) in Jukkal block of Nizamabad district in Andhra Pradesh. As per information, Judge Vijayrao Patel, who is currently posted at Sholapur district Court and his name was registered in his native village Gullabig in Indian government job scheme meant for people living below poverty line(...

The definition is contested as the answer has immense economic implications. If bamboo is a tree or timber, it belongs to the forest department and can be auctioned to the paper and pulp industry, often at throwaway rates. If it is a grass, then it would be classified as a minor forest produce and people would have the right to cut bamboo for sale or for value addition by making...

Social exclusion of children belonging to marginalised groups and barriers to children's access to their rights-based entitlements were highlighted as crucial issues confronting the society at a workshop on children's rights here recently. Activists said children being forced to work as Labourers was an “abysmal failure” of all institutions.The day-long workshop was organised jointly by Save the Children, Prayatna, Society for All Round Developemnt (SARD), Consumer Unity and Trust Society...