For those who asked why the farmers of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states hit the streets during June and July this year, the report prepared by the Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income could be a ready reckoner. Prepared under the chairpersonship of Ashok Dalwai, the report on Doubling Farmers’ Income after studying the trends in crop income and cost associated with 23 crops, reveals a mixed picture across the...
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PDS focus should be on people, not fingerprints -Geetanjali Krishna
-Business Standard For those whose fingerprints don't match, life becomes 'imPoS-able' New Delhi: In certain circles of Jharkhand, a newly-minted term has become the source of heartburn and more — PoS-able. It refers to whether or not one’s fingerprints match on the PoS (point of sale) biometric readers in ration shops. Those whose fingerprints match, access their allotted ration. For those whose fingerprints don’t match, life becomes ‘imPoS-able’. According to an ongoing...
More »Why govt-subsidised Amma, Indira canteens are lifesavers -Reetika Khera
-Hindustan Times After Tamil Nadu’s pioneering Amma canteens, many states have started community kitchens, such as Karnataka’s Indira Canteens. This is a welcome development. The first coverage of the recently inaugurated “Indira canteens” in Karnataka that I noticed were two reports on television channels. Both were poking fun (justifiably) at Rahul Gandhi’s goofy speech at the launch. Sadly though, neither commented on the rationale or importance of the Karnataka government’s initiative. This...
More »A strange hybrid -Sujatha Rao
-The Indian Express Niti Aayog proposal for privatising public hospitals is ill-designed, driven by ideology more than welfare The corporate hospitals have been resting their gaze on public hospitals for long: Land, doctors and patients. Finally, in the Niti Aayog, they have found a sympathetic collaborator. As per media reports, the Aayog is all set to push states to privatise well functioning district hospitals in the Tier 2 and 3...
More »Is the RTI law in danger of losing its might? -Poulomi Banerjee
-Hindustan Times The RTI Act of 2005 made the government more accountable. But a new set of proposed rules may weaken the law and make it difficult and risky for people to access information In 2015, activist Lokesh Batra filed a Right To Information (RTI) application with the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) seeking details about the appointment of the next Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). But the DoPT refused to...
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