-The Times of India The government is moving rapidly to enable cash transfers through the Aadhar platform with 51 districts to be covered by January 1, 2013, and half the country four months later — a bid to rollout an initiative aimed at streamlining subsidies while also earning votes. The plan is to put money directly into bank accounts of beneficiaries of government schemes like scholarships, cheap food under the Public Distribution...

-NDTV Over-ruling the objections of India's defence forces, the government has said that 4500 canteens in the Navy, Air Force and Army will be reviewed by the national auditor CAG. The canteen's run by the armed forces qualify as the biggest retail chain of the country which serve all serving and retired personnel of the three services. At the top of the chain are the 34 outlet of the Canteen and Stores...

-The Times of India Private companies have hijacked the government's flagship scheme to provide food to poor children and their mothers, the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), with contractors in Maharashtra alone controlling Rs 1,000 crore worth of supplies in contravention of Supreme Court orders, a report of the SC commissioners office has said. The SC orders bar contractors from supplying rations under the scheme. It only permits village communities, self-help groups...

-The Economic Times Pan Singh Tomar, the legendary steeplechase athlete-turned-dacoit, earned an annual salary of 120 or thereabouts from the Indian Army, where he served as a hawildar in the 1950s. These days, his great grandson roams around their ancestral village dispensing similar amounts to those at the bottom of the Indian pyramid. If Tomar Sr had resorted to guns for the latter part of his life, Anuj Singh Tomar too has...

-WeeklyBlitz.net As India is approaching towards a general election in less than a year, the leader of ruling Indian National Congress has been listed as world's fourth richest politician with a total wealth of over US$ 18 billion, which is invested in real estate, telecommunication and various business projects around the world, while significant portion of the amount is also deposited in secret bank accounts. Italian born Indian politician Sonia Gandhi...