The proposal that the poor be given direct cash subsidy under the food security law when grain is not available may not go through with many members of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) denouncing the move. Top sources confirmed that the Planning Commission's suggestion did not find favour with some members of the council who argued that a push should be given to "more government procurement" and overhauling the...
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Poverty up, poverty down by D Tushar
In April, India’s Planning Commission accepted recommendations put forth by the so-called Tendulkar Committee on a new poverty headcount for the country. Constituted by the Planning Commission under economist Suresh D Tendulkar, the committee, after four years and a new methodology, arrived at a new figure for the number of Indians living below the poverty line: 37.2 percent, ten points higher than the previous official figure. With the government’s subsequent...
More »NAC seeks universal inclusion under food security legislation by Liz Mathew
A panel of experts that sets the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance administration’s social agenda is likely to reject a draft law to offer cash compensation to the poor, who do not receive their quota of subsidized foodgrain. Members of the National Advisory Council (NAC), which is led by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, insisted during a Thursday meeting that the entitlement should be universal, instead of being restricted to families below the...
More »India's 'revolutionary' RTI Act fails to reach the poor
A law empowering Indians to seek information from government to promote accountability and transparency has brought change to urban India, but has largely left out the country's rural poor, social activists say. The Right to Information (RTI) Act - similar to the Freedom of Information Act in the United States - was enacted almost five years ago and is aimed at providing a practical way for all citizens to access...
More »Food entitlements likely to be a contentious issue by Smita Gupta
The question of whether it is possible to move — and how swiftly — towards universalising food entitlements under the proposed National Food Security Act, dominated the second meeting of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) here on Thursday, NAC sources told TheHindu. Universalising food entitlements will hinge on availability of food grains, and on whether the exchequer is in a position to bear additional cost of food subsidy...
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