-The Hindu Aggrieved women have received rations only thrice in the past five years Two semi-literate housewives, Beena and Mitra Devi, hesitantly but wilfully trail us, ration card in hand, on a hot Saturday afternoon. We are walking towards Fair Price Shop No. 7980 in Harsh Vihar near Delhi’s border with Ghaziabad. Though fearful of the Ration Shop owner and his toughs, these two women realise it is now or never. They...
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BPL families pitch for subsidized PDS: Study
-The Times of India With finance minister P Chidambaram recently declaring at a full Planning Commission meeting that cash transfers may replace subsidies for food, fertilizers and fuel by the end of the 12th five-year Plan, the controversial proposal has again taken centre stage. A recently concluded pilot project which substituted ration cards with Rs 1,000 transferred monthly to families throws light on the pros and cons of the scheme. The study...
More »Food security Bill to see more delay as panel tenure ends-Sandip Das
-The Financial Express The government is unlikely to take up the National Food Security Bill in the winter season of Parliament as the panel examining the proposed law had to be reconstituted as its tenure had lapsed. The National Food Security Bill, 2011, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha by food minister KV Thomas in the winter session last year, was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee chaired by Vilas Muttemwar...
More »After foreign investors, government balm for aam aadmi -Rajeev Deshpande
-The Times of India An SMS alert that tells the position of stocks in Ration Shops. A front-to-back computerization tracking food grain movement from procurement to rations shops. And a swipe card to allow BPL users to access subsidized food grain. A two-stage Rs 4,200 crore recast of India's notoriously leaky public distribution system (PDS) is likely to considered by the Cabinet on Monday along with a Rs 1.25 lakh crore expansion...
More »Reforms in power utilities, sugar subsidy on the cards
-The Economic Times The government is pushing ahead with long-awaited reforms to boost finances of cash-strapped power utilities and to reduce food subsidy by raising the price of sugar in Ration Shops, but the cabinet meeting to consider these moves has been deferred to next week. Sources said the government was also considering a proposal to increase the dearness allowance for central government employees by about 7%. This should come as a...
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