-The Hindu The Audit has also found substantial systemic problems with the Direct Benefit Transfer in LPG scheme, called Pahal by the government. The Centre claims it would end up saving almost Rs. 22,000 crore in the financial years of 2014-15 and 2015-16 since launching its two-pronged approach on cooking gas subsidy — introducing direct bank transfers of the subsidy and asking better off consumers to voluntarily give up theirs. However, a CAG...

-The Hindu Business Line The National e-Governance Plan can ensure that higher devolution of funds translates into improved outcomes Cutting edge technology is, no doubt, empowering. The right application of technology can boost productivity in all sectors of the economy: agriculture, manufacturing, services, business and governmental activities. Technology enables informed decision-making, stakeholder participation and efficient service delivery and can help ensure transparency, accountability, and rule of law leading to inclusive good governance....

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Blaming weaknesses in the regulatory system as being the reason behind the rising cases of financial sector fraud, comptroller and Auditor general (CAG) Shashi Kant Sharma on Friday drew attention to huge non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks, a significant part of which could have been fraudulently obtained as advances by debtors and transferred abroad, from where they may never be recovered. The CAG also...

Two back-to-back reports that shed light on the status of MGNREGA implementation in the country, have been released recently from the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). A review of MGNREGA implementation in 8 different states of India by a team of experts during the month of May this year reveals that in many of the drought affected districts, the Gram Panchayats have no work to offer under the programme. (Please click...

-Hindustan Times It is almost a year since the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), or the Skill India mission, with the aim of giving as many as 2.4 million young Indians industry-relevant training with an elaborate certification scheme. One year is too short a time to assess true progress in a bureaucracy-driven system of the kind India has, but, given the NDA’s earnestness to create jobs by...