The long search for an effective system to target subsidies on food, fertiliser and fuel has finally ended with the Planning Commission accepting the idea of an Aadhaar-based rechargeable smart card. Ideas like direct cash transfers and food stamps have been rejected in favour of the Aadhaar smart card. The new proposal can help target the food subsidy with the tamper-proof biometric cards – Aadhaar unique identity cards – being...
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Watts in it for me? by Tusha Mittal
A LEAFY VILLAGE in Kerala, Pathanpara, never found access to India’s electricity grid. That is why for the last several years, this village has been generating its own electricity. Raju, a dhoti-clad cashew nut farmer, operates Pathanpara’s five kilowatt (KW) micro hydropower plant. He lives in the village and earns a salary of Rs 2,250, paid by the People’s Electricity Committee (PEC). The power generated is shared equally by the village,...
More »Bhushans should come out with proof, says Amar Singh by Gargi Parsai
The former Samajwadi Party leader, Amar Singh on Monday challenged the father-son duo Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan to prove that the controversial CD allegedly containing a conversation between Mr. Shanti Bhushan and him (Amar Singh) and SP chief Mulayam Singh on a legal deal was fake and asked the Bhushans to step down from the joint drafting panel on the Lokpal Bill. Addressing a news conference here, Mr. Amar Singh...
More »Only 6% of doctors held for sex-selection practices convicted by Kounteya Sinha
Only around 6% of cases filed against doctors involved in sex-selection practices in the 17 states, which have the most skewed sex ratio, have ended up in convictions till date. According to Union health ministry's latest data — prepared for a crucial meeting of health secretaries of the 17 states on Wednesday — a total of 805 cases have been filed in court against doctors till March 31, ever since the...
More »Arrest-release boosts Akhil Gogoi’s movement by Syed Miraz Ahmed
The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity Assam’s (KMSSA) General Secretary Akhil Gogoi on Sunday was taken into custody by Pan Bazaar Police from outside the Guwahati Press Club premises for first instance violation of PR Act 126. Anti-corruption campaigner Akhil Gogoi along with some 40 members and supporters was at that time about to proceed to Dighali Pukhuri to lead a democratic sit in protest in support of Gandhian Anna Hazare’s demand...
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