-Outlook As subsidies for the poor continue to be under attack, a ground-up report from 10-states shows how well welfare schemes have worked over the last 10 years. Ahead of Elections 2014, rights-based welfare schemes are under attack. To those who argue ‘Dolenomics' doesn't work, a survey of five schemes in 10 states shows that the Rs 1,68,478 crore annually the nation spends is making a real and tangible difference on...
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Opinion divided on banning poll surveys-Sahil Makkar & Somesh Jha
-The Business Standard A sting, Operation Prime Minister, by a TV news channel had said opinion polls could be manipulated by research agencies The Election Commission (EC) of India cannot ban opinion polls ahead of elections; all it can do is remind the Union government about its long-pending request. And, this is what India's highest poll-conducting body is planning to do, following a TV news channel's sting operation code-named ‘Operation Prime Minister', which...
More »Whose Forest is it Anyway?-Shirish Khare
-Tehelka In their struggle for forest rights, the Baigas of Madhya Pradesh have adopted a form of protest dating back to the 1930s, says Shirish Khare An idol placed under a banyan tree passes for a temple in Masna village in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh. Surrounded by dense forests, the village is inhabited by the "primitive" Baiga tribe. "The government has taken over our land and enclosed it with barbed...
More »Spike in curbs on free speech in 2013
-The Hoot From three in 2011 and five in 2012, there have been 8 deaths of journalists in 2013. The rise in the number of instances of censorship this year and increasing surveillance, bode ill for free speech in India. A yearender from the FREE SPEECH HUB. Please click here to access Free Speech in India 2013: A report from The Free Speech Hub of the Hoot. ...
More »Ending ‘VIP culture’ in public governance-TS Krishnamurthy
-The Hindu The political executive and the permanent executive should realise they are public servants first and work in harmony to achieve the constitutional objectives There is a need to arrest the ‘laal batti' [red beacon] culture in public governance. The Supreme Court of India has been delivering a variety of judgments on matters of public governance, and these have been the subject of debate and discussion. Some of these related to...
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