Representatives of around 20 civil society organizations and NGOs met the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley as part of pre-budget consultation on social sector on 12 January, 2016. Immediately after the pre-budget consultation, a press conference was held by some of these organizations to convey the media persons what demands/ suggestions were made.   Subrat Das, Executive Director of Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA, http://www.cbgaindia.org/) informed us that during...

-Hindustan Times Birhor Tola (Ranchi): A 45-year-old tribal villager, Paklu Birhor, and his companions forage a forest in the Jonha valley, barely 40km from the Jharkhand capital, every day at the crack of dawn for wild edible roots and herbs. On a lucky day, they return home with game — rabbit, monkey, boar or birds. They count themselves fortunate if they stumble upon the carcass of a wild or domestic animal. These...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The "Mercedes" class left squirming by Delhi's odd-even car rationing today received sympathy from the Supreme Court, which suggested that Metro trains earmark premium seats where the affluent can sit "dignified" at a price. "Mr Kumar, car owners who are coming (to the Delhi Metro), they must get some space to sit," Chief Justice T.S. Thakur told solicitor-general Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Centre in a case filed...

-Livemint.com Accountability Yatra aims to cover all 33 districts of Rajasthan in 100 days, and to mobilize people join in and put pressure on the state government to bring in an accountability law Santosh Devi and Raju Devi of Raniwara in Jalore district of Rajasthan are from the Bhil tribal community. They are widows of the same man and live with their grandchild. Earnings are meagre here—every time the postman brought pension...

-Livemint.com A large number of central schemes end up curbing the autonomy of states In some ways, the thunder of finance minister Arun Jaitley’s first full-year budget was stolen by the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) report. Released just a few days before the budget speech was made, the FFC brought in significant changes in state-centre finances by increasing the devolution to states from 32% to 42% of the net Union tax...