-PTI The government plans to provide subsidy to 14 crore LPG subscribers directly in their bank accounts from October 1, using the Aadhaar payment platform. The government, official sources said, has decided to launch "Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for LPG throughout the country tentatively from October 1". "This (transfer of LPG subsidy) would require a much larger number of beneficiaries to be covered for opening of bank accounts and linked to Aadhaar and...

-PTI Following direction from finance minister P Chidambaram, banks have initiated the process of linking account with Aadhaar number for cash transfer of LPG and other subsidies. Banks have started informing customers through different mode of communication including SMS about linking of Aadhaar number with the account number to facilitate subsidy transfer. "For getting LPG, MGNREGA and other subsidies direct to your account, please get your account linked with Aadhaar number," Canara Bank...

-The Hindu Business Line After the 1980s, special interest groups have preferred to knock on the doors of the judiciary. In India today, matters of public interest seem to get their due only when the Supreme Court has added its two cents. Interest groups, representing both general and special interests, petition the judiciary actively. In an era where virtually all institutions in India have been vulnerable to political capture, the judiciary seems like...

-Live Mint It's obvious that Indian experience with local governance is not what it should have been, but a change is underway Later this week, the country will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the constitutional amendments that made it mandatory for the creation of panchayats-the village-level bodies that deliver self-governance. Most may not be aware that this could well have been the eve of its 25th anniversary, but for the three-vote defeat...

-The Telegraph The Prime Minister today tipped civil servants on technology's power to carry government services to the remotest corners. He might have been surprised to learn that closer home, it was a different story. At the capital's seat of power, the babus are beating technology hands down. In 2009, then home minister P. Chidambaram had introduced a biometric attendance system to ensure punctuality in his ministry. He himself was often seen holding...