-Frontline The inability to resolve pressing problems with respect to the production, distribution and availability of food is one of the important failures of the entire economic reform process. IN the fateful month of July 1991, when the devaluation of the Indian rupee presaged the introduction of a whole series of liberalising economic reforms, agriculture was very far from the minds of most policymakers and commentators. The immediate focus was on...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday said that close to Rs 21,000 crore was saved in two years by directly transferring Subsidy (DBT) to user bank accounts. The savings are largely from the elimination of fake/ghost/duplicate/inactive domestic LPG connections. Over 3.34 crore of these connections were done away with after the implementation of DBT. According to government calculations, 3.34 crore blocked consumers would have used up Rs 14,818.4...

-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...

-Business Standard This policy involves providing products and services such as electricity and fertilisers at below-market prices New Delhi: While much of public discourse in India has tended to focus on expanding the current Subsidy regime to help the poor, Vijay Joshi, economist at Oxford University, advocates shifting to a universal basic income, replacing all government subsidies with a single cash transfer to all citizens, providing them with a basic income guarantee. At...

-PTI New Delhi: To meet the demand for fertiliser in the ongoing kharif season, the government has contracted 2 million tonnes of urea import for delivery by the month-end. India is dependent on urea imports as domestic output is lower than the demand. Overseas purchase is being done via three state trading enterprises — STC, MMTC and IPL. “Our urea requirement is 2.5 million tonnes for this kharif season. We have finalised imports...