-PTI Move by the Centre is aimed at weeding out false complaints in governance-related matters To reduce the number of vexatious and malicious complaints, the government has decided to encourage the complainants to mention their Aadhaar card numbers while filing grievances on governance-related matters through an online platform. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), which is the nodal agency for formulating policy guidelines for citizen-centric governance, manages a Centralised Public...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Delhi High Court today dubbed the Kejriwal regime’s vehicle-rationing report as “vague” and asked it to submit on Friday a revised one having specific data on changes in pollution levels from January 1-7. Focussing on “insufficient” public transport and “inconvenience” caused to commuters, the court asked the government to consider winding up the odd-even scheme on Friday instead of carrying on for a fortnight. The 8am to 8pm rationing...

-The Indian Express The farmers are under severe stress, with profitability in farming falling alarmingly. FY17 budget must boldly address the agriculture crisis. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his team are beginning pre-budget consultations with various stakeholders for the upcoming FY17 budget. Generally, the consultations start with agriculture, slated for January 4. It’s good practice and courteous to invite farm experts and farmers’ representatives. Often, one finds these meetings full of anguish...

-The Hindu Business Line The proposed crop insurance overhaul is a welcome step The Centre’s move to come out with a new crop insurance policy has not come a moment too soon. The initiative seems keen to address two main impediments to enhance the coverage of crop insurance — high rates of premium under the Modified National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (MNAIS), particularly in relation to the sum insured, and inaccuracies in estimating...

-Business Standard The government is holding talks with states providing cashless health insurance, such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat After providing life cover and accident cover, the government is now working on a universal health insurance plan. To begin with, it will provide a seamless solution to the existing cashless health schemes in states by integrating those with the Centre's direct benefits transfer (DBT) platform. Later, these would be scaled up. "Encouraged...