-Statement issued by Concerned Citizens, Doctors, Nutritionists, Parents, Advocates and Researchers dated 5th May, 2022 Amidst growing attacks on meat sellers and restaurant owners who sell non-vegetarian food, a statement has been issued by concerned citizens, and civil society groups. The statement depicts how such attacks or bans against non-vegetarian food would impact the right to food as well as the nutritional status of the disadvantaged sections of the society and the undernourished...

-TheWire.in While the system was rightly designed to eliminate ghost beneficiaries, the impact of exclusion errors needs to be professionally and independently evaluated in detail. The direct benefit transfer (DBT) system has come to dominate the discourse on public service delivery in India. The existing rhetoric around its efficacy being one of anti-corruption, cost efficiency, and elimination of middlemen. Payments under DBT are made to low-income households using an elaborate, digitised system...

-ANI/ ThePrint.in Ranchi (Jharkhand): An audit of the District Mineral Foundation Trust fund, collected under the provision of the Mines Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, indicates gross misuse of the DMFT fund. The audit was conducted by the Jharkhand’s Principal Auditor General (PAG) in six districts, Bokaro, Chatra, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Lohardaga and Ranchi. In these districts, a sum of about Rs 3,000 crore was collected as DMFT funds between 2015 and 2021....

-Newsclick.in The central government has raked in over Rs18 lakh crore from excise duties compared to Rs14 lakh crore from taxes by all state governments over the past eight years. Yet again, the government has tried to obfuscate the exorbitant petrol/diesel prices by blaming state governments. This time, it was the Prime Minister himself who blamed some Opposition-ruled states for not reducing taxes like the Value Added Tax (VAT) after the central...

-Newsclick.in The high healthcare costs were expected to be addressed through the introduction of health insurance by the Union government, but it covers less than 30% of hospital charges leaving a heavy financial burden on the poor. Health outcomes have remained grossly unequal, with India's dalits and adivasis living shorter lives of poorer quality, as per a recent paper published by Oxfam India. Private infrastructure now accounts for nearly 62% of India's...