-The Telegraph Rural job scheme activist Niyamat Ansari was beaten to death by Maoists as a group of middlemen stood and watched, a report on the March 2 killing has pointed out, indicating once again that implementation of MGNREGS in Jharkhand leaves a lot to be desired. Armed with the report, a committee constituted by Union rural development ministry today met chief minister Arjun Munda and his deputy Sudesh Mahto, requesting...
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Schemes that don't seek to identify poor cover them best by Rukmini Shrinivasan
The first-ever comprehensive review of India's anti-poverty schemes has found that schemes like the MGNREGS that do not specifically seek to identify the poor are most successful in actually covering them. This is a significant finding given that many in the government have been arguing for the opposite — more rigorous external targeting — ahead of the 2011 BPL census. The World Bank on Wednesday released a review of centrally-sponsored social...
More »UPA courts trouble with BPL census by Sanjiv Shankaran, Ruhi Tewari & Liz Mathew
Exercise begins in June, but beneficiaries of govt schemes will still be those identified as poor by Plan panel India has embarked on an exerciseto identify the poor that will in reality end up choosing who will be eligible for benefits and who won’t, an outcome that could be controversial. The Union cabinet on Thursday approved the launch in June of a census to identify those living below the poverty line (BPL),...
More »Poverty, caste and religion to be simultaneously mapped for census by Smita Gupta
Government has redefined what constitutes poverty A nationwide survey that will simultaneously map the economic, caste and religious backgrounds of the entire population was approved by the Union Cabinet on Thursday. The survey marks two firsts: firstly, in a break with past practice, the Below Poverty Line (BPL) Census has been widened to include urban areas; earlier, it was restricted to rural India. Secondly, the caste headcount, which will be conducted simultaneously...
More »Shrink PDS & rework NREGA, World Bank tells India by Sharad Raghavan
A World Bank review of India’s social sector programmes has suggested a smaller public distribution system with more cash transfer, reworking of NREGA as a public works programme for urban areas and finally, a Social Security package including health care for those without regular employment. The report titled ‘Social Protection for a Changing India’, was commissioned by the Planning Commission. The bank said the three-pillar approach should be combined with social...
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