Bill has provision for free meals, besides an allowance of Rs 6,000 to all pregnant women. Ahead of assembly elections in seven states next year, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is planning a big push towards its social security agenda. For, its Cabinet note on Food Security Bill has incorporated a provision for free meals, besides a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 for six months to all pregnant women and...
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City's poor condemned to another bitter winter by Ambika Pandit
Three lives have been lost while several others had a narrow escape in fireaccidents that have so far claimed 16 night shelters between last year and now. In the latest incident, a night shelter was destroyed in a fire early on Saturday morning leaving a nine-year-old girl charred to death. Worse still, like every year, the state government is scrambling to put in place a winter plan for the city's...
More »Food Security scheme will have to wait for delayed BPL survey by K Balchand
The all-crucial Below the Poverty Line (BPL) survey will not be completed ahead of the start of the 12th Five-Year Plan and consequently the execution of the promised Food Security entitlement, for which the government intends passing legislation in the coming Parliament session, will suffer. Following a review meeting with officials of all States here on Friday, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh admitted that the deadline for conducting the Socio Economic...
More »Cap & trade, Nrega style by Subhomoy Bhattacharjee
Good sections of rural India don’t want NREGA any more, showing the government spending pattern on the scheme. Since a large percentage of the village labourers have moved to the cities, it makes far better sense to develop an unemployment dole for them. The subtext is an accounting arrangement that ensures that like NREGA, the government can keep on rolling out similar entitlement programmes like the proposed Food Security Act, but...
More »Centre doubles sop for UP weavers to Rs 6,000 crore
-The Times of India The Centre on Saturday announced a Rs 6000-crore package for the handloom sector, doubling the announced financial relief, in what is seen as an outreach to the weaver community with authorship of Rahul Gandhi ahead of crucial UP elections. The sop increased with the government including individual loan defaulters, who are not part of a cooperative for loan amnesty, and in giving incentive for timely payment of loans...
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