The government will compile figures at the district and block levels to arrive at a more accurate identification of poor for better targeting of welfare schemes. So far, the poor in India have only been counted at the national and state levels. The Planning Commission has commissioned a study which will come up with these relevant numbers soon. The poverty cut-offs (a minimum monthly expenditure below which people are considered...
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Food Security Bill not likely soon by Sindhu Bhattacharya
The Food Security Bill is unlikely to see the light of the day this fiscal. According to agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, though the UPA government is committed to providing food security to all, the below poverty line (BPL) math and elaborate procedure required to draft this law will take another 8-10 months. Speaking in the capital on Thursday, Pawar said: “The procedure involves incorporation of statistics from Planning Commission about BPL...
More »Celebrating a revolution at the grassroots by Kaveri Gill
For two decades the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) has taken the Right to Information Act to the grassroots. KAVERI GILL was witness to a mela that celebrated its 20th anniversary at Bhim, Rajasthan. The occasion was no political party rally, nor was there any promise of handouts by the state, dangling a carrot or wielding a stick to elicit attendance On Labour Day, a maidan in Bhim, District Rajsamand,...
More »The Land Bank Ledger by Sugata Srinivasaraju
The Karnataka government is getting ready to host the Global Investors Meet (3- 4 June). A similar jamboree held some years ago, when S M Krishna was chief minister, had been a resounding flop, but this one, the government believes, would be a runaway success. There has been no dearth of publicity for the event in the media and there has been no shortage of roadshows on foreign soil. A...
More »Peasants in India by D Bandyopadhyay
In India peasantry is under assault. There is a five-pronged attack on this class and the mighty Indian state is sometimes an active and sometimes a passive abettor. The first point of attack is from the corporate sector. The corporate sector is in a land grab mode. Though not justified, one could understand their urge to get land for industry and real estate purposes. Not that they are causing aggressive...
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