-The Indian Express The voucher scheme is supposed to act as an intervention for LIG and EWS segments who are forced to seek accommodation elsewhere in the face of inadequate social rental housing THE MINISTRY of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation is considering introduction of subsidies, in the form of direct benefit transfer, that would be provided to economically weaker sections (EWS) and low income group (LIG) households towards their rent payments. The...

-Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Programmes proliferate but vast majority of rural poor remain uncovered by social protection Rome: Social protection is emerging as a critical tool in the drive to eradicate hunger, yet the vast majority of the world's rural poor are yet to be covered. The State of Food and Agriculture 2015 published by FAO today finds that in poor countries, social protection schemes - such as cash transfers, school feeding...

-Livemint.com Given condition of land records and problems in identifying actual beneficiaries, the task is gigantic, say analysts New Delhi: The Aadhaar-based direct benefit transfer (DBT) of fertilizer subsidies may not see the light of day anytime soon. “The roll-out of DBT in fertilizer will take some time because there are various hurdles,” said a government official, who is working on DBT. The official, who requested anonymity, said that “this is more challenging”...

-Al Jazeera Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unlikely to narrow the gap between Indian elites and the rest of the population India has experienced a significant economic growth spurt in recent decades. After seeing annual growth of 3 percent in the years after independence in 1947, the rate began to double, reaching a rate of around 6 percent per year after 1980. However, the distribution of growth proceeds has been very uneven...

-The Indian Express The objective is to ensure that a standard minimum wage rate exists for all kinds of occupations. The government is seeking to significantly boost incomes of the country’s lowest paid workers by substantially raising the minimum wages payable to them, mandating payments through formal banking channels and ensuring they get social security benefits like provident fund and medical insurance. Fresh amendments are being readied to incorporate these changes to...