-OutlookIndia.com While implementing the Mid Day Meal Scheme, there should be no difference on the issue of whether the child is in a government school or not. The Odisha government has launched several schemes, like the Millets Mission and Iron Plus Initiative, to boost nutrition among the people, especially children and the tribal population, and the state must work to ensure that none is left out from the Poshan Abhiyaan, an...

-Livemint.com * A new research paints a mixed picture on the relative merits of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication in the PDS * The research highlight there can be several ways to authenticate beneficiaries in the public distribution system Since 2017, the Indian government has mandated the use of Aadhaar-based biometrics in India’s public distribution system (PDS) to tackle the longstanding issue of leakages. Critics, however, suggest that this has excluded many beneficiaries and increased...

-Economic and Political Weekly States across the country are taking steps towards providing digital identities to beneficiaries of their public distribution systems. In doing so, the use of Aadhaar-based biometrics seems to be the preferred choice of method. However, several other methods exist for the same and have been adopted by different states at different points in time. States currently embarking on the journey of providing digital identities to their beneficiaries...

-The Indian Express According to the Central Statistics Office, there were 24.95 crore households in India in 2011. If every household in the bottom 20 per cent is eligible for this income, this translates into a total expenditure of about Rs 3.6 lakh crore annually. When Congress president Rahul Gandhi announced that his party, if voted to power, would offer a minimum income of Rs 72,000 a year for the poorest 20...

-Economic and Political Weekly A broad-brush assessment of the public distribution system is presented in six of India’s poorest states—Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal—soon after the National Food Security Act, 2013 came into force. Important gains have been made, including broader coverage, lower targeting errors, accelerated PDS reforms, and a greater political commitment to food security. In four of the six reference states, the PDS seems to...