The total expenditure on central schemes for the poor and on the major subsidies exceeds the states' share of central taxes. These schemes are chronic bad performers due to a culture of immunity in public administration and weakened local governments. Arguing that the poor should be trusted to use these resources better than the state, a radical redirection with substantial direct transfers to individuals and complementary decentralisation to local governments...

-Outlook Describing the government's ambitious direct cash transfer scheme as a "powerful tool", Reserve Bank Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty has said the initiative will help reduce fiscal deficit, which in turn will also bring down inflation if implemented well. "The direct cash transfer scheme will reduce the fiscal deficit, which in turn will facilitate inflation control," Chakrabarty, the senior-most of the four deputy governors at the Mint Road, told PTI in...

-Outlook Its ploy of Aadhar-hinged cash transfer may have won the Congress political points, but will it really be a game-changer?   State-Wise     40% of the 22 crore Aadhar numbers are in Andhra Pradesh (4.7 crore) and Maharashtra (4 crore)     20% is what the two politically sensitive, Congress-ruled states account for of the 51 districts where DCT will be rolled out     55 lakh Aadhar numbers in TMC-run West Bengal. BJP-ruled Gujarat (57...

-The Financial Express Mumbai: On Tuesday, the RBI said the path of inflation will be shaped by two sets of counteracting forces. On the downside, slower growth and excess capacity in some sectors will help moderate core inflation. “Stable, or in the best case scenario, declining commodity prices will reinforce this tendency. An appreciating rupee will also help to contain inflationary pressures by bringing down the rupee cost of imports, especially of...

-Outlook Rising income levels in rural areas have led to an unprecedented demand for protein-based food items, leading to sustained pressure in headline inflation, says a Crisil report. "Rising incomes in rural areas are fuelling greater spends on protein products such as milk, eggs and meat in the hinterland. Overall spending in the country on protein food doubled to Rs 2 lakh crore in 2009-10 from 2004-05. Two-thirds, or Rs 1.33 trillion,...