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...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Palghar Christian tribals under attack by fundamentalists
-Deccan Herald Mumbai: Palghar that grabbed headlines late last year for all the wrong reasons continues to simmer with news trickling from interiors that communalist forces have barred Christian adivasi families from drawing water or collecting firewood to cook food. The ostracising of Christian adivasis in the tribal taluk of rural Thane district reached its peak on Sunday when a mob raising slogans disrupted a worship service and assaulted worshippers. Delayed reports...
More »Skimming the surfaces of sexism isn’t enough-Kishwardesai
-The Indian Express Gangrape speaks of the deep pathologies in the way young men are socialised. We should look within I hate item numbers,” exclaimed a (male) film actor in the midst of a talk show about the gangrape in Delhi that shook the nation. Immediately, there was a heated discussion about the uselessness of item numbers in the midst of Hindi films. Some spoke vehemently about how these songs were sexually...
More »The fax-email democratic republic -Garga Chatterjee
-DNA The notice has been served to ‘the people’. The Justice Verma Committee, set up to review the present criminal laws relating to safety and security with an eye to amend them, has asked ‘all members of the public’ among others to respond with ideas, knowledge and experience, to assist the committee in reaching its objective. The notice has been published in many newspapers. This mode of public consultation is not new....
More »13 Resolutions to Change the Food System in 2013 -Danielle Nierenberg
-Huffington Post As we start 2013, many people will be thinking about plans and promises to improve their diets and health. We think a broader collection of farmers, policy-makers, and eaters need new, bigger resolutions for fixing the food system -- real changes with long-term impacts in fields, boardrooms, and on plates all over the world. These are resolutions that the world can't afford to break with nearly one billion still...
More »