The total expenditure on central schemes for the poor and on the major subsidies exceeds the states' share of central taxes. These schemes are chronic bad performers due to a culture of immunity in public administration and weakened local governments. Arguing that the poor should be trusted to use these resources better than the state, a radical redirection with substantial direct transfers to individuals and complementary decentralisation to local governments...

-The Times of India National Advisory Council (NAC) member and MKSS leader Aruna Roy on Friday shot off a scathing letter to the finance ministry objecting to "talk" of subsidy cuts for the poor while funding programmes like Aadhar that have no legislative backing. She also suggested that pre-budget consultations for business and social sector should be held jointly in a more democratic fashion. Expressing "shock" at subsidy cuts Roy, who did...

Should they be targeted? Should they go to individuals or households? Are conditionalities necessary? Without a full consideration of these issues, cash transfers will remain an expensive gamble Having worked on cash transfers for over 25 years, and being an economist, I find recent criticisms of the idea shrill and ill-informed. Only a right-wing ideologue would call them a panacea or a cure-all. They would merely be a vast improvement on...

-The Hindu It will bring many customers into banking fold: Andhra Bank CMD Hyderabad: Andhra Bank Chairman and Managing Director B. A. Prabhakar on Sunday said the cash transfer scheme of the Central government was a game changer for banks as it would help bring a large number of retail customers into the banking fold. The scheme had the potential to bring about a second revolution in the industry after nationalisation of banks...

-Outlook Hyderabad: Union government is all set to provide loans to women self help groups (SHGs) at the rate of seven per cent from April 1 next year and at four per cent to the target group in 150 selected districts, Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh announced here today. "Loans will be extended to Self Help Groups at 7 per cent from April 1 while in another 150 districts, selected...