The National Advisory Council's proposals on the Food Security Bill represent a bad deal for the poor. The struggle for an effective and equitable Food Security Bill (FSB) has received a setback with the disappointing proposals put forward by the National Advisory Council. There is a disturbing disjuncture between what is being claimed and the actual implications of the proposals. Indeed it may be said that the NAC proposals create new...

Even as India once more self-declares its “arrival on the world stage” with a symbol for the Indian rupee, a global assessment presents a depressing picture of India’s actual economic performance. In a study whose conclusions were to be expected, the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHDI) has revealed that an appropriate index of poverty (and deprivation) finds its incidence in India and elsewhere to be much greater than...

The only programme the UPA government has to provide pensions to BPL individuals is plagued by mismanagement, delays in disbursement and underutilised funds. The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), allocated Rs 5,700 crore every year, covers five major schemes—the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS), the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme, the National Family Benefit Scheme and the Annapurna...

Contesting government figures, several MPs on Monday stressed that the number of manual scavengers still left in the country was much higher than what was furnished by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment — 1.17 lakh. At a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry, they pointed out that this figure did not square with the much larger number of proposals received by the Ministry of Housing...

Dissatisfied with the recommendation of the National Advisory Council (NAC) for “phased, time-bound universalisation of foodgrains entitlements” across the country, the Right to Food Campaign has announced its decision to mobilise people for a “comprehensive” Food Security Act. “A nationwide call will be given towards this at the national convention being held in Rourkela, Orissa, from August 6,” the Campaign, a conglomeration of activists and civil society groups, said in a...