-The Economic Times The government wants to roll out cash benefit transfers throughout the country before the end of its term in 2014. It is a laudable goal, but will require speedy generation of Aadhaar, the unique identification number, and of Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. About 40% of Indians have no access to formal financial services. So, the government wants to step up efforts to open a bank account for every beneficiary and...
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Like flowers and chocolates-Sonalde Desai
-The Indian Express Setting up women-only banks overlooks the reasons for their exclusion The women-only bank mentioned in the finance minister's budget speech is like flowers and chocolates — a sweet thought but just as unsubstantial. Financial exclusion of women is a real problem. It deserves far greater effort than sops like a women-only bank. Such a bank also runs counter to the logic of mainstreaming, rather than ghettoising, gender issues. It is...
More »Aadhaar should be led by less glamorous person
-The Economic Times Almost every fortnight, Nandan Nilekani knocks on the doors of the Reserve Bank to push his case for making Aadhaar an easy gateway to a bank account. He has reached a frontier that, when crossed, could multiply the number of Indians, untouched by high-street banks, to have accounts. An inexpensive technology to execute this exists: the fingerprint of the person with a 12-digit individual identification number is all a...
More »After seven years on the run, rape convict Bitti Mohanti held in Kerala -Shaju Philip
-The Indian Express Kannur: Seven years after Bitihotra Mohanti alias Bitti jumped parole following conviction in the rape of a German national in Rajasthan, he was arrested from Kannur in Kerala on Friday night, bringing to an end one of the longest hunts for a fugitive in the country. The son of former Orissa DGP B B Mohanti, Bitti had been sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment by a fast-track court for...
More »Direct Benefit Transfer a failure, beneficiaries excluded: Aruna Roy
-The Hindu Out of 20,000 beneficiaries in Ajmer district, only 220 actually received cash Accusing the government of “forcing” people to enrol for an Aadhaar number, social activist and National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy says the performance of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme in the first two months has been “dismal,” resulting in “exclusion” of poor beneficiaries. Ms. Roy, a vociferous opponent of linking Aadhaar with welfare delivery, expressed her concerns...
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