For me, stepping into the simple precincts of Bapu Kutir in Sevagram and seeing Gandhiji’s personal belongings was indeed a lesson in humility. The charkha holds pride of place in the small mud dwelling even as Gandhians take turns to spin the wheel. One gentleman told us that a national shift to khadi would provide employment to thousands of people. The greatest thing about visiting Sevagram is to find that the...
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Housing schemes for urban poor to get 2.5 FSI, says Chavan
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Friday announced that the state government would allow 2.5 floor space index (FSI) for the housing schemes in the city for the urban poor. The schemes would be planned by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). “There had been a demand for additional FSI for housing schemes of MHADA in Pune so that more houses could be made available to the poor. The houses...
More »My data versus yours by MK Venu
It’s been often asked why our officialdom, with all the intellectual capital at its command, is unable to quantify the number of the really poor in India. Is this such a difficult thing to do? It is all the more baffling because in recent times, the debate on India’s poverty has only further confounded ordinary citizens. The Planning Commission had come up with an assumed deprivation ratio of 27.5 per...
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KEY TRENDS • Section 105 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which provides for excluding 13 Central legislation, including Land Acquisition (Mines) Act 1885, Atomic Energy Act, 1962, Railway Act 1989, National Highways Act 1956 and Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978, from its purview, has been amended for payment of compensation with rigours $ • The amendments have now...
More »Unwelcome surprise by Jayati Ghosh
In pushing for a greatly truncated PDS, the Food Security Bill proposed by the NAC, which has many right-to-food activists, undermines the PDS itself. ENSURING food security was the big promise of United Progressive Alliance-2. The promise to enact legislation to ensure a minimum quantity of affordable food to all poor households in the country was part of the election manifesto of the Congress party that leads the government. The 100-day...
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