-The Hindu The Modi government is determined to dismantle the two-pronged welfare paradigm. It is now an established fact that one area where the Narendra Modi administration has acted with a sense of purpose, urgency and resolve is in slashing social expenditure. Be it education, health, agriculture, livelihood security, food security, panchayati raj institutions, drinking water or the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes sub-plan, central government funds earmarked for social protection have been cut. The...

-Outlook New Delhi: Promising a revamp of Delhi's education system, the state government today said it will form its own education board on the lines of CBSE and NCERT, come out with new syllabus and also amend existing education laws. In a first-of-its kind interaction under one roof, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisosia today met principals of all the government schools at Tyagraj Stadium here. The announcement came...

-The Times of India INDORE: After LPG subsidy, Union government has made Aadhaar card mandatory for job applicants under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The move, however, is being criticized by activists. "MGNREGA Management Information System (MIS) is refusing to accept work demand or generate musters for workers unless Aadhaar number is mentioned," said Madhuri from Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan. Terming it latest effort of government to derail MGNREGA, Madhuri...

-Business Standard Reduction in leakages in the Public Distribution System (PDS) is driven by marked improvement in states such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Bihar, noted economist and former member of the National Advisory Council Jean Dreze has said in a recent report. In an email interview to Mayank Mishra, he said the National Food Security Act should bring the bulk of the population under a single category with clear entitlements. Edited...

-Frontline The Left and other national parties protest against the NDA government's attempts to dilute the MGNREGS by limiting its budget and reducing its reach. IN a rare show of solidarity, representatives of several political parties took issue with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on its controversial proposal to restructure the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The opposition, which was initially confined to the...