Aruna Roy is in Delhi, not as a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) but as a social activist. Roy, under the banner of Pension Parishad, is spearheading a national CAMPAign at Jantar Mantar demanding a universal pension scheme for senior citizens in India. A move that could cost the government around Rs 2 lakh crore per annum, the proposal will cover more than eight crore senior citizens. The...

-The Hindu Demands for a universal pension scheme got bolstered with a large number of underprivileged people including farmers, domestic workers, single women, disabled persons, sex workers and trans-genders from more than 20 States beginning a five-day dharna at Jantar Mantar here on Monday. The CAMPAign for universalisation of Rs.2,000 as monthly pension for every elderly above 60 years in age and does not come under the tax slab is being spearheaded...

The Union government has decided to intensify its operations against the CPI (Maoist) by launching the third and fourth phase of its multi-winged, coordinated stratagem to squeeze the expanse of what the Naxalites now refer to as the ‘ring of fire' (part of the red corridor). However, several ministries are not extending any cooperation. Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh raised the issue in his letter to Prime Minister Manmohan...

-The Telegraph Union human resource development minister Kapil Sibal has invited a group of students from the Northeast to discuss the problems they face while studying in other cities. Coordinators of the Justice for Richard Loitam Facebook CAMPAign told this correspondent that the Union minister has invited Monika Khangembam, a Manipuri student in Bangalore, to be a member of the group of students from the region. She had coordinated the Facebook CAMPAign, which...

-The Hindustan Times Members of Parliament had increased their pension three-fold but a universal pension scheme for senior citizens has remained a piped dream. This is despite the UPA government’s promise before 2009 general elections of providing social security net for vulnerables, said National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy, while announcing a national CAMPAign for demanding monthly old age pension of Rs. 2,000 or half of minimum wage of a state, whichever...