In a move that could benefit more than 62 lakh school teachers in government, municipal and private unaided schools, the Centre plans to provide them with life insurance and health insurance at highly subsidized rates. The HRD ministry has already held detailed discussions with LIC, with the public sector insurance giant coming up with an "indicative scheme" with two components. The first component on life insurance would be available for...
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NAC Chief Sonia scores on Food Bill by AM Jigeesh
THE NATIONAL Advisory Council ( NAC) headed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has scored its first victory — a change in the proposed Food Security Bill that raises the monthly allocation of foodgrains to the poor from 25 kg to 35 kg at Rs 3 a kilo. The draft Bill, approved by the empowered group of ministers ( EGoM) recently, had offered 25 kg of foodgrains to those below the poverty...
More »Why the UID number project must be scrapped by Gopal Krishna
Activist Gopal Krishna makes a case that the Unique Identification Number project is a gross violation of fundamental human rights and points out that a similar project/law in Britain is going to be repealed. This is with reference to a privacy invasion project which is relevant to India and all the democratic countries of the world. The very first bill that is to be presented by the UK's new coalition...
More »Independent UN expert urges legal reforms to boost right to food
The right to food has gained significant recognition in Africa, Asia, Latin America and South Asia, but more national institutional reforms are needed to ensure that the fight against hunger is rooted in legal mechanisms, a United Nations expert has said. “Boosting food production should not be confused with realizing the human right to food,” said Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food. “If the international...
More »Prof. Suresh Tendulkar interviewed by Pooja Suri and Amiti Sen
Suresh Tendulkar created a flutter among policymaking circles when a committee led by him raised the estimate for poor households in the country to 74 million from the Planning Commission estimate of 65.2 million. The former chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council explained why his numbers are more credible in an interview with ET’s Pooja Suri and Amiti Sen. Excerpts: Why did your committee decide to accept the...
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