-The Hindu   The flagship programme will now include LPG subsidy Admitting that the UPA government's ambitious flagship Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) programme had run into unanticipated "difficulties" since its roll-out in January this year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday exhorted the departments concerned to renew efforts for its successful implementation. Dr. Singh pointed to the "unsatisfactory nature of tracking and monitoring" systems of the scheme which had the potential of "transforming...

-Bloomberg The corpse of Indian farmer Bengali Singh burned to ash atop a blazing funeral pyre on the banks of the river Ganges in 2006. Five years later, the dead man was recorded as being paid by India's $33 billion rural jobs program to dig an irrigation canal in Jharkhand state. Officials in his village and the surrounding region used at least 500 identities, including those of Singh, a disabled child of...

-The Hindu   The government needs to open its eyes and realise that the technological utopia it envisions in the low-cost tablet is no cure for poor education, poverty or inequality The last few days have brought the Aakash tablet back into the media limelight. Last Friday, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister M.M. Pallam Raju said that troubles with the manufacturer could doom the project. But the next day, former HRD Minister Kapil...

-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...

-National Alliance of People’s Movements A historic mobilization of more than 1 lakh farmers, farm workers and agrarian masses belonging to a wide variety of social movements from across India descended upon New Delhi today. Protestors at the 'Kisan Khet Mazdoor Mahapanchayat'  came to show their collective commitment towards getting the government’s attention to reverse the grave agrarian crisis caused by liberalization reforms supporting foreign investors, corporations; reforms that support elite...