-The Hindu When data is monetised, as the Economic Survey advocates, it becomes toxic and harms public interest Last year, I was denied information requested under the Right to Information Act (RTI) 2005. I had sought the names of agencies empanelled by the Unique Identification Authority of India for an “image makeover” and the expenditure on it. It was denied by invoking the exemption clauses of Sections 8(d) and 8(j), respectively, i.e....
More »SEARCH RESULT
How the Centre Can Ensure Women Receive Maternity Benefits -Vanita Leah Falcao, KC Sachin and Sabhil Nath Painkra
-TheWire.in Increased budgetary allocation is a welcome step, but key aspects of the Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana scheme need to be reviewed. The Union Budget brought with it a 17% increase in this year’s allocation for the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD). Approximately 9% of the total allocation, which is Rs 29,000 crore, has been earmarked for the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY). The PMMVY is a Centrally sponsored...
More »From Plate to Plough: A win-win deal -Ashok Gulati
--The Indian Express Replacing subsidies with direct cash transfers to farmers’ accounts will empower them as well as consumers. In her budget speech, the Union finance minister (FM) said: “At the centre of everything that we do, we keep gaon, garib aur kisan in mind.” Here then is a small mantra for her to transform the lives of the kisan and the poor in rural areas. Just streamline the food and...
More »Death by digital exclusion? : on faulty public distribution system in Jharkhand -Shiv Sahay Singh
-The Hindu Many in Jharkhand have been denied food under the public distribution system as their ration cards have been cancelled in the mad rush for putting in place a digital system. While activists claim that some have died from starvation, the government denies this. Shiv Sahay Singh reports on the faulty PDS A few weeks before Kaleshwar Soren, 45, died, he sold the last of his belongings, a Palash tree, for...
More »'One nation one ration card' scheme from July 1, 2020 -Priscilla Jebaraj
-The Hindu Aadhaar linkage needed for it to work; States given one more year to use point of sale machines in ration shops, says Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan New Delhi: ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ scheme, which will allow portability of food security benefits, will be available across the country from July 1, 2020. This means poor migrant workers will be able to buy subsidised rice and wheat from any ration...
More »