Top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday met the Election Commissioner to lodge their protest against the Centre's announcement of the direct cash transfer scheme ahead of Gujarat elections and demanded its withdrawal. Led by party leader L K Advani and Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, the BJP delegation questioned the timing of the announcement and demanded its withdrawal to ensure free and fair elections in Gujarat.
In a move that shows the urgency and seriousness with which the UPA 2 is planning the execution of first phase of direct cash transfer scheme before the January 1, 2013, deadline it has set for itself, the Union government has notified formation of two core committees -- called Mission Mode Committees -- tasked with rollout of the scheme. Prasanna D Zore reports from New Delhi.
Direct cash transfers or food coupons should be used to provide services to the poor, says Farzana Afridi.
Evidently, households see a brighter future after the Budget, reveals Mahesh Vyas.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday traded barbs over the government's direct cash transfer scheme after the Election Commission sought a reply from the Centre on the timing of the announcement.
Expressing unhappiness over the announcement of the much-touted direct cash transfer scheme by the government even when the model code was in force, the Election Commission on Sunday wrote to the Union cabinet secretary seeking a report on the matter.
The government will launch the payout of direct cash subsidy to people through the Aadhaar based system in 51 districts of the country from January 1, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said.
Cash transfer is targeted at the poor, but Aadhaar which will be at the core of the direct transfer process -- has no role in identifying the poor.
Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party leader N Chandrababu Naidu has welcomed the "cash transfer" initiative of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but reminded him that it was his brainchild as the TDP had promised direct cash transfer to beneficiaries in its 2009 election manifesto.
As the deadline for direct cash transfer for subsidies in 43 districts nears, the government has started the mapping of gram panchayats to provide banking services in remote parts of the country.
Beneficiaries of kerosene, LPG and fertiliser subsidies will be able to get direct cash transfers through banks, ATMs or even mobile banking after the UIDAI's recommendations to plug leakages in the system are implemented.
'It is time to think up a policy of incentivising farmers in the states around Delhi.' 'Let's say a farmer is given an incentive for not burning his crop stubble and instead handing over the task of incinerating the crop stubble to a State-run-or-funded community initiative.' 'The incentive can take the form of, say, fertilisers, or even direct cash transfers,' recommends Somasekhar Sundaresan.
She suggested several measures such as protection of doctors, easing the supply chains and deferment of loans.
"We have suggested a fund for drought or flood, and when our production is hit. The fund will be with the states which the Centre will provide. The implementing agency will be the respective state governments," said K V Thomas, minister of state for agriculture and food.
The stimulus package is expected anytime this week and will be aimed at the urban and rural poor; disadvantaged sections of society; MSMEs and some of the worst-affected sectors.
The Economic Survey on Thursday prescribed reforms in the subsidy regime in oil, food and fertiliser sectors and asked the government to review the possibility of direct cash transfer to the targeted people.
The Congress MP from Sivaganga also slammed the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance and said the people of Tamil Nadu do not want a government which has any "stain, scent or shadow" of the BJP as its 'Hindi-Hindutva' agenda "irritates" them.
It is in no way a government of the economic Right. The Right is limited to religion and nationalism. The rest is as Left as the Congress or any other party, observes Shekhar Gupta.
He asserted that the government purchase of farm produce will remain, adding that the mechanism of minimum support price will continue in the same way it always has.
A meeting convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday afternoon will see the leaders of around 20 opposition parties come together on a common platform through video-conferencing.
The Congress leader, dressed in black pants and a white kurta, was seen sitting on the footpath and asking migrant labourers near the Sukhdev Vihar flyover about their ordeal.
Some members held placards of news reports about unemployment figures.
The two Congressmen are Mario Diaz-Balart and Ben McAdams.
Rs 7,024 cr transferred under LPG cash subsidy scheme.
'With the largest number of malnourished people on the planet, India is poised to be a nation that significantly under-performs as an economy.'
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana scheme will help eradicate poverty and curb corruption at the grassroot level, industry said.
Business leaders, among others, ask govt to let go of fiscal target, seek stimulus, and direct cash transfer.
Several hundred Indian firms that manufacture or assemble Rs 10,000 crore worth of aerospace components annually for manufacturers like Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopters now face disruptions relating to covid-19.
Gandhi said if money is not given in the hands of the poor and small and medium industry, there could be "serious economic damage" in the country.
These parties also asked the Centre to present a revised comprehensive economic package that will be a 'true stimulus' and sought reversal of all unilateral policy decisions, especially pertaining to labour laws, as they put forth a 11-point demand charter before the government during a virtual meeting, called by the Congress to discuss the situation arising out of the pandemic as well as the lockdown.
Nandan Nilekani complimented RBI on granting licenses to payments banks, calling it 'a great revolution'.
'It is a package for a new self-reliant India.'
In a video message posted as part of the Congress' 'Speak Up India' campaign, which was launched on Thursday, she also demanded that the government provide Rs 7,500 to each needy family for the next six months and Rs 10,000 as immediate cash to them.
The phased increase of prices is being done to sell the fuel at international prices.
Having made Aadhaar mandatory for receiving subsidised cooking gas (LPG) in 19 districts, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said the unique identification card will no longer be a must for giving subsidises unless cleared by the Supreme Court.
'The government has failed to understand the seriousness of the situation, and that's why they are underestimating the problem.' 'They think some tinkering here and there will fix the economy automatically.'
'There is lack of demand because people have no jobs, and no income.' 'Lakhs of people have lost their jobs and they have no income which has led to no demand in the market.'
Here's the full text of President's Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on the first of Budget Session 2022.
Prof Ananth Narayan, well known financial expert who works as a faculty member at the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research and the RBI's nominee director on the board of Yes Bank, expects a double-digit contraction in India's GDP this fiscal year. In the first of a two-part interview to Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com, Prof Narayan, below, says, "Giving liquidity and loan to cover the cash flow problem is not sufficient because you are essentially increasing the debt of many of these companies. And they might not be able to bear the burden."
'Just see what kind of political, social and economic impact it will have when the number of unemployed goes up four times in one year suddenly.'
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