-PTI NEW DELHI: Finance Ministry today agreed to dole out a record Rs 100,000 crore towards diesel and cooking fuel subsidy in 2012-13 but wants pricing formula to be changed from current year to cut down the outgo. Finance Ministry, which had previously given out cash subsidy of Rs 55,000 crore, agreed to give Rs 40,000-45,000 crore more to cover for unmet revenue losses on fuel sale in the fiscal year ending...
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Aadhaar–LPG linkage still tardy in Andhra Pradesh
-The Hindu ‘Consumers must get Aadhaar number linked todatabase of oil companies and bank accounts' Hyderabad: Even as the Centre announced that the rollout of direct transfer of the cash subsidy on LPG would be from June 1, only 55 per cent of consumers got their Aadhaar number linked to the database of oil companies in the five districts in Andhra Pradesh. Even poorer is the linkage of Aadhaar numbers to the bank...
More »DBT scheme to be launched in 20 districts-Sujay Mehdudia
-The Hindu It is likely to be extended to entire country from October The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry on Wednesday announced that the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for the LPG consumers, putting subsidy cash directly into the account of beneficiaries, would be launched in 20 districts with high Aadhaar card penetration from June 1. The scheme is likely to be extended to the entire country from October this year. However, the...
More »Here's why Food Bill will cost more than we think-Prachi Mishra
-The Economic Times The revised, but not yet passed, National Food Security Bill (NFSB) represents a crucial political-economic approach to welfare. But how well do we understand the financial and, more importantly, distributional consequences of the revised Bill? Although the revised Bill is likely to simplify the identification of beneficiaries, financial implications will still be substantial. Calculating these implications must include not only the cost of food subsidy, but also additional costs...
More »Cash transfers are bad for food security-Madhavi Cherian
-The Hindu India's hard won gains in achieving food security are in danger of being undermined by a clause in the National Food Security Bill that encourages States to adopt cash transfers in lieu of food entitlements under the Public Distribution System (PDS). Supporting this view, a recent report by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) concluded that the provision of food subsidies in the form of cash would...
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