-Tehelka The cash transfer debate has turned political with BJP complaining to the Election Commission about the timing of the announcement. It claims the scheme was declared with Gujarat polls in mind. However the Congress-led Central government rubbished the allegation and said the announcement happened in March. Even the political slugfest continues, the debate among experts and activists hasn’t died down. Akshai Jain spoke to a few experts about the various...

-NDTV The Election Commission will decide today whether the government violated the rules by announcing a major overhaul of India's welfare system while Gujarat is in the midst of elections. The opposition BJP has complained that the announcement of the direct cash transfer scheme violates the model code of conduct, which kicks in as soon as elections are announced and forbids parties and candidates from sharing decisions or policies that could influence...

-The Times of India By announcing the direct cash transfer scheme and fielding senior ministers from the Congress platform, the Manmohan Singh government may have risked the ire of the Election Commission (EC). The election watchdog will meet on Sunday to deliberate over opposition BJP's complaint that cash transfers are essentially a poll sop, unveiled ahead of the Gujarat assembly election. The timing of the announcement in November although the scheme is to...

-The Hindu While Gujarat’s GDP growth in the last two decades has been notable, it is not reflected in employment, wages, health or education There is a widespread belief that Gujarat is a shining star on the Indian growth horizon and that all other States would do a great service to Indian masses by emulating the model of development that Gujarat embarked upon under the stewardship of Narendra Modi. A recent study,...

-The Economic Times A publicity campaign by the Gujarat Congress meant to show the NarendraModi government in poor light has boomeranged on the party.   Congress was caught on the wrong foot when it was revealed that the photograph it used in its posters to portray alleged malnutrition among Gujarati children was that of an emaciated Sri Lankan child. The advertisement, which appeared recently in various newspapers and websites, said, "proper nutrition to 45%...