Budget 2023's allocations for most critical social security schemes have declined in real terms, says economist Jean Dreze - IndiaSpend The last full Union budget before the next general elections in 2024, which was presented on February 1, gets "a big zero" in terms of welfare spending from economist and social activist Jean Dreze. Budget allocations for most critical social security schemes have declined in real terms, Dreze said. The Union government withdrew...

-Scroll.in The sugar-coated termination of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana calls for an urgent expansion of alternative social security measures. Much confusion surrounds the Modi government’s recent move to modify the foodgrain entitlements of National Food Security Act cardholders from January 1, 2023 onwards. The move actually has two steps, cleverly synchronised. The first step consists of waiving, for one year, the token payments that National Food Security Act, or NFSA, cardholders...

-The Hindu Business Line The National Food Security Act could adopt standardised criteria to identify beneficiaries across States/UTs India’s development report cards have long been plagued by high incidence of malnutrition, making it an often-cited example of the nation’s growth conundrum. With the country being home to more than one-third of undernourished children, it is evident that the problem underlines the need for a targeted and multi-sectoral approach, with the benefits of...

-NDTV.com Here's a story that won't make the 9 pm news. As per reports in a few regional language newspapers (yes, they still have The Spine), the Union is proposing an increase in the prices of rice, wheat and cereals sold through the National Food Security Act (NFSA) by Rs.7 per kg for Priority Households (PHH). Apparently, NITI Aayog has even recommended that the Food Ministry increases the price for sale to...

-The Telegraph At present, India has 195 million households with ration cards (nearly 794 million people), lower than the beneficiaries we intended to target in 2013 Inordinate delays in carrying out the census exercise are depriving millions of Indians who rely on rations for their subsistence. The exclusion of the poorest from the public distribution system in the pre and post-pandemic years was first flagged by the economists, Jean Drèze and Reetika...