-Outlook Congress president Sonia Gandhi today strongly backed the Centre's new Direct Benefit Transfer system that will ensure cash transfer directly in the hands of beneficiaries of various schemes, saying it is in line with many other "revolutionary" measures taken by the UPA. Gandhi, who is also UPA Chairperson, also announced her intent to bring the much-talked out Food Security Bill in Parliament soon to ensure that no poor family remains hungry. She...

-The Times of India Crest Cash transfers have been described as the world's favourite new anti-poverty device. As India gets set to implement it, TOI-Crest finds out if the politics will ever be divorced from the cash The UPA government's ambitious plan to introduce direct cash transfers (DCT) by January 1, 2013 reflects both the political desperation of a beleaguered government and the urgent need to reform India's inefficient and corrupt public...

-The Indian Express With the government set to launch the direct cash transfer scheme from January 1 in select districts across the country, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will tomorrow brief district Congress and youth presidents about the benefits of the scheme. He will address district Congress and Youth Congress presidents of 51 districts, where the direct cash transfer scheme is to be implemented from January, explaining the benefits of the measure so...

-The Times of India Crest The biggest hurdle for the DCT programme is the identification of the poor. The "gamechanger" announcement of the UPA 2 government on Direct Cash Transfers (DCT) for 45 schemes has generated much debate through the week with opinions flying around faster than money can get electronically transferred. At the heart of it, the idea of this proposed DCT is unexceptionable. Existing programmes where government transfers money to...

-The Financial Express A Central employees' union will go on a token strike tomorrow to protest against the Pension Bill and the Centre's decision to allow FDI in pension. The Confederation of Central Employees and Workers said employees throughout the country were agitated over the government's fresh move to introduce the PFRDA Bill in this ongoing Parliament session. "It is surprising that even after findings of the Committee set up by the government...