-The Times of India Highlighting irregularities and delays in the issuing of BPL and ration cards, the CAG report has slammmed the food and supplies department for its functioning. The department’s failure to identify beneficiaries for its schemes, and under utilisation of foodgrains, kerosene oil and funds also find a mention in the report.  “It cannot be safely concluded that the food management system in Delhi was functioning in a transparent and...

-The Hindu From identification of fewer than targeted families to not lifting adequate ration supplies from godowns to non-submission of utilisation certificates, the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has found several anomalies in the Public Distribution System and functioning of the Department of Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs of the Delhi Government. In its report for the year ended March 31, 2011, the CAG has stated that a...

-The Hindu In yet another move to curb wasteful expenditure after launching an austerity drive in Ministries, Central departments as also autonomous bodies, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday pitched for streamlining the delivery mechanism for distributing subsidised commodities such as food ration, cooking gas and all other targeted government schemes for the ‘Aadhaar' platform. In a letter to Chief Ministers of 16 States and Union territories, Mr. Mukherjee said: “...given the...

-The Hindu A petition submitted to Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, Chairperson, NCERT Textbooks Review Committee, by leading Dalit and non-Dalit writers, scholars and activists. When NCERT's Class XI Political Science textbook, Indian Constitution at Work , came to the attention of some Dalit activists, they objected to the manner in which the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, had been depicted riding a snail representing the Constitution, with...

-The Business Standard    Draft health insurance guidelines must not remain on paper The insurance regulator’s draft guidelines on health insurance were necessary, given the segment has been plagued with high loss ratios, low penetration and persistent customer complaints. The draft, which proposes changes in every facet – product structure, renewability and claims settlement – is a thoroughly pro-customer document and seeks to plug the various loopholes that have been used to make...