-The Indian Express At a high-level meeting in July itself, Modi set a target of one billion Aadhaar enrolments "at the earliest". Putting to rest speculation about the fate of the previous UPA government's most ambitious scheme - issuing Aadhaar cards and linking all benefits to this unique identity - the NDA government has given it a decisive push with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself taking a keen interest in its rollout. At...
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Undertrials who have served half of their maximum terms to be freed -Pradeep Thakur
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In what could lead to freedom for thousands of undertrials languishing in jail for years on end, the Narendra Modi government has initiated steps to release PRIsoners who have served at least half the sentence they would have been awarded if convicted, irrespective of the progress of their trial. However, this largesse will not extend to those who have been held for offences which specify...
More »Panel to protect elders -Ananya Sengupta
-The Telegraph New Delhi: The government is planning to set up a commission for the country's hundred million senior citizens who would finally have a forum they can call their own to voice complaints of abuse and negligence. The draft National Commission for Senior Citizens Bill, 2014 - which the social justice ministry has sent to several NGOs - gives the proposed panel powers to "investigate" all matters relating to safeguards provided...
More »Can Land Rights and Education Save an Ancient Indian Tribe? -Manipadma Jena
-IPS News MALKANGIRI (Odisha)- Scattered across 31 remote hilltop villages on a mountain range that towers 1,500 to 4,000 feet above sea level, in the Malkangiri district of India's eastern Odisha state, the Upper Bonda people are considered one of this country's most ancient tribes, having barely altered their lifestyle in over a thousand years. Resistant to contact with the outside world and fiercely skeptical of modern development, this community of under...
More »Awaas Yojana set to shed Indira’s name -Subodh Ghildiyal
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Indira Gandhi's name is set to be removed from the popular rural housing programme that provides subsidies to the poor to have a house of their own, in a move which will symbolize the regime change. The rural development ministry is looking to turn Indira Awaas Yojana, a scheme, into a "mission" with increased budget and with an important design innovation which mandates toilets to be...
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