-Pratirodh.com Hundreds of the victims of  failed 'cash transfer' experiment in Kotakism met the Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi where a three-day dharna began on Wednesday demanding a more inclusive 'Food Security Act'.   More than 1000 people from all over the country are participating in the dharna which has been organised by 'Right To Food Campaign'.   Victims of failed cash transfer experiment shared their experiences with the...

-Outlook Rejecting contentions that government is implementing the Aadhar enabled Direct Benefit Transfer (cash transfer) system in a hurry, Finance Minister P Chidambaram told Rajya Sabha today that the measure being implemented step by step will eliminate leakages, delays, duplicacies and falsification. "It will lead to seamless transition. We believe that the new system, which we will introduce, will be more transparent. It will eliminate leakages, delays, duplicacies and falsification. Government firmly...

-The Hindu The Direct Benefits Transfer Initiative is the real tool against corruption that will ensure that the welfare state doesn’t degenerate into a farewell state We are grateful to Narendar Pani (Editorial page, “Cashing in on schemes for poor,” November 29, 2012) and Bharat Bhatti and Madhulika Khanna (Editorial page, “Neither effective nor equitable,” December 4, 2012) for starting a useful debate on the United Progressive Alliance government’s Direct Benefits Transfer...

-The Economic Times Even as India gears up for cash transfers aimed at its poorest, Brazil has been running the Bolsa Familia (BF) cash transfer scheme, widely credited with helping cut inequality by 17% in five years, reducing Brazil's poverty rate from over 40% to 28.8%. BF is run by the National Secretariat of Citizenship Income (SENARC) of Brazil's ministry of social development. Luis Henrique Paiva, secretary of SENARC, spoke about...

-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...