The (word) games we play to avoid dealing with the problems of some of the poorest Indians. It's strange season again in the corridors of planning and power — the run up to the 12th Five-Year Plan. This is when myriad Planning Commission committees review the (somewhat predictable) non-implementation of policies intended to benefit some of the poorest Indians, and recommend changes, only to repeat the exercise five years later. Forgive my...

This essay describes and compares Parliament and the Supreme Court and examines the relationship between them. Parliament may still be a great institution, but its members are no longer great men. How long can a great institution remain great in the hands of small men? The SC has held its place in the public esteem rather better than the Lok Sabha, despite the occasional allegation of financial impropriety. Parliament, the...

New Delhi : Notwithstanding objections by many National Advisory Council (NAC) members to cash transfer-based food subsidy, the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) has approved to provide for “cash transfers and food coupons”, among other options, in the proposed food security Bill. The EGoM, which met under Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s chairmanship earlier this week, also approved “leveraging” aadhaar for Unique Identity numbers for “proper targeting” of food entitlements. Section 31(3)(g) of...

Why is the ruling party unable to pass 3 very important bills? The National Advisory Council draws its exalted status from the fact that UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi heads it. But its inability to get its way on three new Bills indicates that its influence is waning. A couple of weeks ago, the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) cleared the drafts of two significant Bills — the Food Security Bill and...

In a move that could revolutionise the subsidy payment mechanism for LPG cylinder and kerosene oil to the beneficiaries, especially the poor, and change the fertilizer subsidy payment mechanism for the farmers, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has suggested direct cash transfer through banks and ATMs to the targeted groups to ‘plug leakages' in the implementation of these schemes. The move is also likely to revamp the working of...