-Outlook Dudu (Rajasthan): Rajasthan government today said that in a phase wise manner it will make mandatory Aadhaar number for people applying for ten important services or schemes in the state. Aadhaar would be made compulsory for applying for pension schemes of old age, widow, differently abled, MGNREGA job card, ration card, driving license, water and electricity connections, property registration, Indira Awas Yojna, scholarships in future, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said. "This will...

-Outlook Burakha (Tripura): Rampati Debbarma, a 71–year-old tribal woman of Burakha village in West Tripura district today pressed her finger on a Aadhar-enabled micro-ATM to get her old-age pension in cash. Rampati is not alone, but hundreds of old-age pensioners of this village today collected their pensions in the same way with the help of Aadhar-enabled payment system introduced here today. "Earlier I used to walk about 10 km from my village to...

-The Hindustan Times The industries opened up to foreign investment in the past 20 days produce less than a tenth of India's national income. On the face of it, this number is too small to justify the opposition to foreign direct investment (FDI) in supermarkets, airlines, insurance and pensions. Or the government's resolve to open these businesses to foreigners with or without majority control. The picture changes when you see how fast...

-Countercurrents.org I am Neena secretary of Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association Manipur (EEVFAM). On 4 November 2008 after enjoying a family lunch, my husband Nongmaithem Michael, went to a friend’s helping him to set up his father’s shradha ceremony. Around 3 p.m. he got a phone call and left the place. At 3.32 p.m. I received a call from him saying that he was apprehended and told me to inform his sister...

-The Indian Express Bhubaneswar : Aiming to reach the poorest of poor, the Naveen Patnaik government on Tuesday started Palli Sabhas and Gram Sabhas in 48,000 villages under 6,236 gram panchayats through which several developmental projects and schemes such as NREGS, Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan and Old Age Pension would be executed. The programme termed “Gram Sabha Shashaktikaran Karyakrama” would continue till October 18 and give the grampanchayats a say in selecting the...