Cash Transfers are now suggested by many as a silver bullet for addressing the problems that plague India’s anti-poverty programmes. This article argues instead for evidence-based policy and informed public debate to clarify the place, prospects and problems of cash Transfers in India. By drawing on key empirical findings from academic and grey literature across the world an attempt is made to draw attention to three aspects of cash Transfers...

The current perception that cash Transfers can replace public provision of basic goods and services and become a catch-all solution for poverty reduction is false. Where cash Transfers have helped to reduce poverty, they have added to public provision, not replaced it. For crucial items like food, direct provision protects poor consumers from rising prices and is part of a broader strategy to ensure domestic supply. Problems like targeting errors...

-PTI   Delhi may soon become the first city in the country to give cash instead of subsidized kerosene to BPL families, a move aimed at controlling widespread pilferage of the fuel. As per the proposal put forth by chief minister Sheila Dikshit, cash equivalent of the monthly kerosene subsidy will be directly Transferred to the bank account of the female head of the family. A BPL family is likely to...

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Union Law Ministry to furnish details of the reply sent by Additional Solicitor-General A.S. Chandiok in response to a show-cause issued for his appearance in the Delhi High Court on behalf of the North Delhi Power Ltd. (NDPL), a private company. Rights activist Subash Chandra Agrawal, on the basis of media reports about Mr. Chandiok's appearance for a private party and the show-cause...

The National Advisory Council's (NAC) idea about a uniformland acquisition policy - with the government being responsible for all public purpose Transfer of tracts - has not found all-round support. There are no differences on safeguarding the rights of farmers and landowners. But experts say the most essential aspect is to put in place a powerful institutional mechanism for conflict resolution that will also supervise the process of acquisition. In the...