THE government will need to shell out Rs 6,000 crore more in food subsidy to support poor families under the proposed Food Security Act due to the revised estimate of the number of poor families in the country. Food subsidy will account for about 1.1% of the gross domestic product in the current fiscal year, compared with 0.9% last year, said a study by Deutche Bank. The Union budget has...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Total Matching Records found : 2230
Lok Sabha passes bill to hike gratuity ceiling to Rs10 lakh
A bill to raise the ceiling of gratuity for employees to Rs10 lakh from Rs 3.5 lakh was passed by the Lok Sabha without discussion Monday. The House, which witnessed an opposition furore over the 2G spectrum “scam” and reports about alleged involvement of a central minister in an illegal arms deal, also adopted the Employees’ State Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2009 without any debate. The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill 2010, introduced...
More »A Handful of Pebbles by Shriya Mohan
IN PATNI, a remote village in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, sevenmonth- old Sandeep is playing in the mud. He finds a pumpkin seed in the dust and promptly puts it into his mouth. A tiny piece of cow dung, a pebble, a fallen leaf and finally the sole of a rubber slipper follow the pumpkin seed. For Sandeep and the children in the 300- odd families in the village,...
More »Alternative livelihood for tobacco workers suggested
Highlighting the fact that the tobacco industry often pays the lowest possible wages, keeping its workers in a cycle of poverty, debt and ill-health, a recent research study titled “At the crossroads of life and livelihood: The economics, poverty and working conditions of people employed in the tobacco industry in India” presents key evidence linking tobacco production and manufacturing with crucial issues of growing poverty and impeded development. The study recommends...
More »EGoM on food security Bill to meet on May 4, decide on poverty estimates by Saubhadro Chatterji & Devika Banerji
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on the Food Security Bill has decided to meet once again before releasing the much-awaited bill for public feedback. According to a highly placed official in the food ministry, the EGoM is yet to synchronise issues like the poverty estimate with the states, apart from taking a final call on the inclusion of the Above Poverty Line (APL) population in the proposed legislation. The meeting...
More »
