Set to include them in BPL segment In a step which can have a major bearing on Dalit politics in the country and challenge Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s undisputed hold over her caste people, the Centre is likely to carve out a special Mahadalit category and include them in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) segment. The proposal is expected to come up for discussion before the Union Cabinet on...

-IANS   The government on Thursday approved a proposal to conduct a survey based on caste, religion and economic conditions that will help in identifying people living below and above the poverty line and their social backgrounds. The proposed census was approved at the union cabinet meeting here chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh . The survey is expected to begin soon. Information of caste and religion will help in evaluating the widely...

India’s public distribution system has limited benefits due to huge leakage and wastage, World Bank said on Tuesday. It also recommended cash transfer as an alternative to provide subsidised food for the poor. “No country in the world has a well-functioning PDS system. India is no exception,” World Bank said in its report Social Protection for a changing India that was launched here Tuesday. “The public distribution system continues to absorb substantial...

Chhattisgarh’s BJP government has decided to abstain from Planning Commission meetings in protest against the inclusion of Binayak Sen in its steering committee on health. Chief minister Raman Singh has told TV channels that an elected government cannot attend meetings where a “convict” will be present. Senior state officials, though, said that bureaucrats would be sent to plan panel meetings on financial matters such as outlays and projects. Skipping these meetings can...

Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, who declared his solidarity with the villagers of western Uttar Pradesh, who are protesting at the manner in which the State government has been acquiring their land, took a delegation of farmers to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday, taking his battle against Mayawati one step further. Apprising the Prime Minister of the situation in the villages of Greater Noida, where farmers have been agitating,...