-The Hindu Sulabh International, a non governmental organisation (NGO), has decided to double the monthly allowance of destitute, widowed women from this month to dissuade them from begging. The move will benefit 700-odd widows residing in five government-run old age homes here. In addition, the women will be taught Hindi, English and Bengali by trained teachers so that they are able to sign and the money can be directly Transferred to their...

-Live Mint In an interview, India’s food minister says the Bill is about making the Right to Food a legal entitlement Prospects for the National Food Security (NFS) Bill—United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s dream legislation—haven’t looked better. Food minister K.V. Thomas, in charge of fine-tuning the contours of the Bill, is confident of steering it through Parliament during the budget session. In an interview, Thomas said the Bill isn’t merely...

-The Times of India It isn't just foreign investors who would have remembered the last Budget as a tough one. Even women lost out as the government withdrew tax benefits that were introduced in the form of higher tax exemption limit in 2000-2001. In 2000-01, Yashwant Sinha, the then finance minister, had introduced a special provision under which the basic tax exemption limit for women was pegged higher than that for men....

-Live Mint In Parliament address, Mukherjee says direct cash Transfers will cut leakages and bring benefits to the poorest Acknowledging that growing aspirations, particularly among the youth, are going largely unmet, the government has signalled a policy makeover, including undertaking “difficult decisions”. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) also indicated that it was looking to the direct benefit Transfer scheme based on the Aadhaar or unique identity system to restore the feel-good factor...

-PTI The jobs scheme has expedited the financial inclusion of the rural population, says Manmohan Singh Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said bank and post office accounts opened under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) will help the government provide direct cash Transfers to the people. “MNREGA has brought momentum in the financial inclusion of our rural population. Besides direct financial benefit, the scheme has given many indirect benefits...