-PTI Pitching for direct cash transfer of food subsidy, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Tuesday assured this would not result in dismantling of current system of procuring grains at minimum support price (MSP) and distribution through PDS. "...about the cash transfer (of subsidy), the accusation is that you want to dismantle the PDS. This is completely wrong because there is no question of dismantling the minimum support prices," Ahluwalia...

-The Business Standard The rural jobs scheme can boost productivity in farm and textiles sector. There is mounting evidence that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of 2005, under which 100 days of guaranteed wage employment a year was to be provided to target households, is failing to meet its stated objectives. The total cumulative expenditure since 2005 under the MGNREGA is officially estimated to be Rs 1,50,000 crore, and the...

-The Times of India Everyone agrees that India needs to deliver social protection to the aam admi; the forthcoming Food Security Bill is one such attempt. Everyone also agrees that the government service delivery pipelines are riddled with leakages and largescale corruption. Direct cash transfers have been proposed as a way to remedy this defective system. However, as could be expected, the debate has become polarised, with one side believing that cash...

-The Hindu Dudu (Rajasthan): The Union government launched an Aadhaar-enabled service delivery system here on Saturday with a promise of eliminating fraud, black-marketing, pilferage in schemes and bribery through a reliable mechanism of direct cash transfer to beneficiaries in a transparent manner. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the ambitious programme, which seeks to integrate the government-run flagship schemes with the Aadhaar card system at a...

-PTI With UPA facing allegations of corruption, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said his government wants to use new technology to curb dishonesty and bring transparency in governance. Dudu (Rajasthan): Speaking at the launch of Aadhar-enabled Service Delivery system, he said the unique identity numbers will help 1.5 crore students get scholarships, two crore elderly get old age pensions, three crore to avail health insurance and five crore people get the benefits...