Security forces have established a new camp in the Karregutta Hills along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, a former Naxal stronghold, following a major anti-Naxal operation.
From appointment letters becoming mandatory to gig workers receiving social security to enhanced rights for women and contract labour, the changes reflect India's attempt to balance ease of doing business with stronger worker welfare.
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
The Supreme Court of India has criticized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for focusing solely on its own fundamental rights while pursuing a money laundering case related to the Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam in Chhattisgarh. The court questioned the agency's attempt to transfer the case to New Delhi, noting that the agency's petition under Article 32 of the Constitution is typically reserved for individuals seeking redressal for fundamental rights violations.
World Championships medallists Deepak Punia and Antim Panghal were among 30 Indian wrestlers selected for the Senior Asian Championships to be held in Amman, Jordan from March 25-30.
'Due to this sudden phenomenon, guests stopped visiting the homes of these villages, girls and boys from these villages were not getting proposals; students were reluctant to attend schools and colleges for fear of being shamed.'
However, experts say that unless clear guidelines are there, it remains to be seen how many people fall within the ambit and who remains excluded.
What is ailing India's Public Distribution System (PDS)? "Corruption" is the one and only answer to that question.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday promised to enact an-anti conversion law with stringent provisions in Maharashtra, and also assured a skill census for training as per industry needs as well as free ration to low-income families.
Last-mile verification with Aadhaar-Based Biometric Authentication have the worst record among other options available to check PDS pilferage. So the Centre's insistence on that option is bewildering, says Reetika Khera.
The National Advisory Council, chaired by Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, met for the second time on Thursday after its recent revival and unanimously endorsed the idea of universal access to the public distribution system (PDS) in rural areas.
Stating that the food subsidy bill is becoming "unmanageably large", the Economic Survey 2021 on Friday suggested the government to increase the selling price of foodgrains provided through ration shops to over 80 crore beneficiaries. Foodgrains via ration shops are supplied at highly subsidised rates of Rs 3 per kg for rice, Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 1 per kg for coarse grains through Public Distribution System (PDS) as per the National Food Security Act (NFSA). "While it is difficult to reduce the economic cost of food management in view of rising commitment towards food security, there is a need to consider the revision of central issue price (CIP) to reduce the bulging food subsidy bill," the survey said.
In order check irregularities, Bihar has decided to introduce biometric cards in the Public Distribution System, officials said on Monday.
This will cost the government Rs 3.1 trillion, about 10 per cent of its annual expenditure, and higher than any other spending item in its Budget.
The state of Bihar will now monitor the public distribution system (PDS) through laptops to check corruption and to provide help to those living below poverty line (BPL), to get their monthly quota of essential commodities including food grain and kerosene oil, officials said.
This Budget, the finance ministry may consider a proposal for a seed fund that would provide financial support to states willing to sell items other than foodgrain, sugar and kerosene through the public distribution system (PDS). The move, experts believe, will help reigning in food inflation that remains in double digits, despite moderation.
Company to bring in initiatives like biometric transactions to improve efficiency.
The National Advisory Council, chaired by Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, met for the second time on Thursday after its recent revival and unanimously endorsed the idea of universal access to the public distribution system in rural areas. It was agreed that a universalised PDS should be implemented initially in 150 districts, a member said.
The working group on food and public distribution constituted under the chairmanship of Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia is likely to recommend using the numbers effectively for streamlining PDS.
The government's decision to put on hold even limited cuts in ration shop entitlements spells trouble for any future attempts to target subsidies.
Is it a case of poor targeting of a welfare scheme, or is it a reflection of the government's desire to expand the scope of this benefit to secure greater electoral dividends? asks A K Bhattacharya.
The BCG project, which is supported by the United Nations' World Food Programme, the government of India and the government of Orissa, involves scanning finger prints and the iris for preparing biometric cards for a population of around 1 million. Srijan Pal Singh, an IIM-A student, who is part of the project, says the biometric cards will be filtered through a super computer to avoid duplications.
State links PDS to UID to plug leakages in food supplies but gaps remain.
The special investigation cell of the Arunachal Pradesh police on Tuesday arrested former state chief minister and senior Congress leader Gegong Apang from Itanagar in connection with Rs 1,000 crore Public Distribution System scam.
The Ministry of Food and Public Distribution System is also expected to brief the apex court on the steps taken to address the problem.
To tighten the noose around unscrupulous transporters indulging in diverting public distribution system (PDS) food to the open market, the Delhi government has decided to install global positioning system (GPS) in vehicles ferrying ration items such as wheat and rice.
Around 150 people, including family members of the wrestlers, are seeking a meeting with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President P T Usha and ad-hoc panel chief Bhupender Singh Bajwa.
Jamieson, who was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury, was bought by CSK for Rs 1 crore.
If states have to fall in line with MSPs declared by political parties, they will have to do so in violation of central order or bear the full expense of the surplus procured at above MSP rates.
'It is a fiercely fought battle, like our fiery chillies in Guntur.'
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions for the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Karnataka.
In its draft guidelines issued on Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks and primary dealers to act as market makers of credit default swaps.
The research found that 50% of the people were receiving either nothing or less cash than they were entitled in lieu of the subsidised grains that were stopped under the pilots starting from September 2015 till May 2016.
People at a PDS shop in Hemda village in Karnal district were allegedly forced to buy Rs 20 tri-colour flags otherwise they won't get a ration.
Roy Krishna scored inside five minutes to give the Blues an early advantage but Prasanth Karuthadathkuni scored at the stroke of half-time to restore parity.
Asked about the talk of a rift between him and Chief Minister Baghel during the tenure of the government in the last five years, Singhdeo said there were no differences as such.
Economist Abhijit Sen, a former Planning Commission member and one of the country's foremost experts on rural economy, died on Monday night. He was 72.
In the three months leading up to the Assembly elections, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government distributed over 1.4 million tonnes (MT) of wheat, 0.95 MT of rice, 0.10 MT of chana (gram), 101.9 million litres of soybean oil and 100,000 tonnes of salt as free ration. This was part of the Covid relief package, officials said.
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