-The Telegraph Jharkhand: All good things have an expiry date. In this state, their shelf life is only shorter. Mobile Fresh, an ambitious project launched by Jharkhand State Horticulture Mission more than two years ago to deliver fruits and vegetables on Ranchi's doorstep in refrigerated vans, is today a rotting remembrance of its past self. Of the four equipped vehicles that were rolled out in November 2011, three have been gathering dust and...

-The Hindu     The UPA government's response to questions on Aadhaar's voluntariness continues to be marked by ‘intentional ambiguity.' Compulsion by stealth is used to camouflage the use of Aadhaar as a neo-liberal policy tool "This debate is ... about our specific disagreement on the meaning of that one word," i.e. "the Government now seek to persuade us that ‘voluntary' actually means ‘compulsory'." That was Nick Clegg in the United Kingdom's House of Commons...

-The Business Standard Interview with Director General, Independent Evaluation Office, Planning Commission The Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) was created at the Planning Commission in August 2013 to monitor the outcome and effectiveness of various social sector initiatives taken by the UPA government. It began with an evaluation of the Public Distribution System (PDS). Ajay Chhibber, Director General of the IEO, a former assistant secretary general of the UN Development Programme, tells Sanjeeb...

-Down to Earth Cap on subsidised cylinders raised to 12 per year In a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre decided to suspend its ambitious project of transferring subsidy on LPG cylinders directly into the accounts of consumers. To avail the subsidy, all consumers were required to get their Aadhaar or unique identification number linked to their LPG consumer number and bank accounts. Besides, the Centre has...

-Grain.org "We take care of the cow and the cow takes care of us," says Marayal, a farmer in Thalavady, Tamil Nadu. Her two cows produce 6 to 10 litres of milk a day, which she sells for 30-40 cents per litre. Across India, there are millions of backyard dairy farmers like Marayal. Each owning just one or two cows, these farmers supply millions more families and hundreds of thousands of informal...