-The Hindu With a single stroke, the government has made over 3.5 crore existing post office accounts ready for its new Aadhaar-linked cash transfer scheme. The accounts, which belong to MGNREGA workers over the country, were originally to be used only for receiving wages under the rural employment guarantee scheme. However, the government has now woken up to the potential of using the ready-made network of accounts to directly transfer benefits such...

-The Business Standard Reetika Khera Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi* “Aadhaar is being made de facto compulsory for welfare schemes. With two-thirds without Aadhaar, they are bound to be denied entitlements” There are three components of the government’s direct benefit transfer scheme — computerisation, extending banking services and linking the benefits with Aadhaar. The real game-changers are the first two, whereas Aadhaar-enabled transfers carry the risk of excluding current beneficiaries. The Central government has...

-Forbes India A look at the crucial issues involved Over the past three years, India has vigorously debated the merits of having a Unique Identity (UID) number for each citizen and, allied with it, the move towards direct cash transfers (DCT) of subsidies (like food, fuel and fertilizer) and social security endowments, like pensions and scholarships. On January 1, India took its first steps towards UID-enabled direct cash transfers. But the move has...

-The Indian Express Can wages paid to NREGA workers from scheduled castes be counted as money spent on SCs’ welfare? The Rural Development Ministry believes it can, but Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Kumari Selja doesn’t buy the argument. She has shot off a letter to the Planning Commission, questioning the rationale of including Rs 10,000 crore of NREGA funds in the SC sub-plan, under which a mandated 16.2% — the percentage...

-Economic and Political Weekly We support cash transfers such as old-age pensions, widow pensions, maternity entitlements and scholarships. However, we oppose the government’s plan for accelerated mass conversion of welfare schemes to Unique Identification Authority (UID)-driven cash transfers. This plan could cause havoc and massive social exclusion. We demand the following: (1) No replacement of food with cash under the public distribution system (PDS). (2) Immediate enactment of a comprehensive National Food Security...