-The Business Standard Nobody will believe Finance Ministry data that only 400,000 Indians earn more than Rs 20 lakh a year I had barely finished my lecture in support of Tax on Super Rich, when this gentleman sprang up from the audience and asked me how the finance ministry will define “Super Rich” in India. I managed to answer his question by reminding him that certain issues should be left to the...
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Missing the masses-Manu Moudgil
-The Hoot The media welcomed the UID's promise of giving an identity to those outside the system, but has failed to track its failure to do so. On January 1, the Indian government announced roll out of its ambitious cash transfer scheme in 20 districts of the country based on unique identification (UID), also called Aadhaar. The media, while presenting the pros and cons of cash transfer, also mentioned that...
More »Chhattisgarh district loses 6000 girls a year -Rashmi Drolia
-The Times of India JASHPUR (Chhattisgarh): It's a cold, windy morning in Thuthiamba village in the interiors of Jashpur district and Basanti, 20, is clutching her one-year-old son close to her chest for both warmth and comfort. She is ravaged by the thought that the child will grow up never knowing who the father was. Basanti was just 12 when she was taken to New Delhi for domestic work by a woman...
More »The Case for Direct Cash Transfers to the Poor-Arvind Subramanian, Devesh Kapur and Partha Mukhopadhyay
The total expenditure on central schemes for the poor and on the major subsidies exceeds the states' share of central taxes. These schemes are chronic bad performers due to a culture of immunity in public administration and weakened local governments. Arguing that the poor should be trusted to use these resources better than the state, a radical redirection with substantial direct transfers to individuals and complementary decentralisation to local governments...
More »To pass biometric identification, apply Vaseline or Boroplus on fingers overnight -Anumeha Yadav
-The Hindu The technical glitches that plague cash transfers in Jharkhand may not have arisen with a simpler system that does not need Internet connectivity Pilot cash transfer projects taken up in Jharkhand for MGNREGA wages have achieved little success due to a variety of logistical, human and technological problems. A year after the launch of these projects, the problems remain unsolved. In Ramgarh district, a majority of the beneficiaries are in Dohakatu...
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