A coalition of civil society activits has criticized the Union Budget 2023-24 for reducing government spending on the social sector by a massive amount. The economic crisis induced by the Covid-19 pandemic was borne disproportionately by those at the bottom of the pyramid and in this context spending on social protection schemes such as the Public Distribution System, anganwadis, pensions and MGNREGA is especially important. But the Government of India has...
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Budget Briefs: Food Subsidy in FY 2022-23 lower by 28%, 12.3 crore excluded - Jenny Susan John, Avani Kapur, Ria Kasliwal
Accountability Initiative, Centre for Policy Research Budget 2023-24 will be unveiled on February 1. As part of laying the context this brief, prepared by the Accountability Initiative, examines the allocation and expenditure trends for India's food subsidy. At the start of the current Financial Year (FY) 2022-23, Government of India allocations for Food Subsidy stood at Rs. 2,06,831 crore, which was 28 percent lower than the previous year's Revised Estimates (REs)....
More »Decennial census put off till September to freeze boundaries -Vijaita Singh
-The Hindu The general elections are expected to be held in March-April 2024 and the completion of both the phases of census will take at least 11 months, even if done at accelerated pace from October, there by ruling out the possibility of census happening anytime in 2023 and early 2024. The decennial census exercise has been postponed till September, at least, as the government informed States that the date of freezing...
More »A welcome move: On the free grains scheme under food security law
-The Hindu The Centre’s taking up the burden for free food grain distribution in 2023 will provide relief to States The Government has decided not to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, (PMGKY), a scheme that ran between April 2020 to December 2022 (except for a short period in between), and provided additional allocation of food grains, i.e., rice or wheat from the central pool at five kilograms a month...
More »Adivasis at bottom rung of India’s development pyramid, finds Tribal Development Report 2022 -Shuchita Jha
-Down to Earth India’s tribal communities have been pushed away from alluvial plains and fertile river basins, into the harshest ecological regions, the report notes India’s tribal communities form 8.6 per cent of the country’s population according to the 2011 Census. But they are at the bottom of the country’s development pyramid even after 75 years of independence, according to a new report released November 28, 2022. The Tribal Development Report 2022,...
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