HETA, India – At the entrance to this village in India’s eastern state of Jharkhand, a large pond glistened under the bright autumn sun. Yellow and blue lilies surrounded it. A tailor was stitching clothes outside his shop while a few boys nearby were playing carrom on the lid of a rusted oil barrel. It was a tranquil, rustic setting – a candidate for a landscape painting, it seemed. But it...

-The Business Standard The transition to direct fertiliser subsidy will not be easy The road map for direct transfer of fertiliser subsidy to farmers that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee outlined in the Budget has come under a cloud even before it is rolled out. Most in the fertiliser sector – including, notably, the fertiliser ministry and fertiliser dealers – are wary of trying it out, for fear that it might create more...

Move could save banks significant money spent on record-checking and documentation In what could usher in an era of paper-less, real-time authentication, the finance ministry is looking into allowing online Aadhaar authentication as a valid proof of identity for opening bank accounts. The ministry is considering an amendment to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA, to recognize online Aadhaar data to satisfy know-your-customer (KYC) requirements. This will pave the way for...

-The Times of India Nagaland Police allegedly used fictitious bills to withdraw Rs 4 crore for the procurement of 1,750 fire extinguishers, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India said in its annual report tabled in the recently-concluded Nagaland budget session. The report said that the government had sanctioned the funds under major heads-arms and ammunitions-on the basis of the proposal submitted by the office of DGP, Kohima. The office of...

-The Business Standard The Union Budget for 2012-13 today reinforced the importance of Uniquie Identification programme, as the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee approved an outlay of around Rs 1,450 crore for Aadhaar. Finance Minister also increased the rollout target for Aadhaar card to an additional 400 million people. The enrolments into the Aadhaar system have already crossed 200 million. “The Aadhaar platform is now ready to support the payments of MGNREGA; old age,...