In 2014, the United Nations’ International Labour Organisation (ILO) set foot in Odisha to guide the state in ensuring and extending basic guarantees of income and health to the poor and the most vulnerable through its joint UN project, ‘Social Protection Floor’ (SPF). Odisha became the testing ground for SPF which links exclusion and poverty, and leaves it to a country to
Governance Now got in touch with Gurpreet Singh alias Santa and Prabhpreet Singh alias Banta, who have been living up to their stage names for 18 years. Sick of being held responsible for bringing disrespect to the community, the duo has now decided to change their names to Jugli and Shugli. When and how did you become popular as Santa and Banta?
At the age of 82, Ela Bhatt remains as active as she was decades ago when she launched a remarkable trade union of poor women, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), in Ahmedabad and thus pioneered a unique grassroots movement. Bhatt, a Gandhian, has served in various capacities – as a nominated MP, as a member of the planning commission and on a number of international organ
Close to the World Cultural Festival organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living (AoL), purportedly, causing damage to the flood plain of river Yamuna in Delhi, the centre is mulling changes in the environmental laws to make such vandalism unaffordable. The proposed changes in the law would scale up the fines to a minimum of Rs 5 crore as against Rs 1 lakh. Will this act as a de
How would you describe the last one year in terms of rolling out e-governance services and various ICT interventions in Delhi? The government of national capital territory of Delhi (GNCTD) intends to convert all services including internal functioning on the e-platform in a time-bound manner. As part of the e-governance initiatives for G2C and G2B, free Wi-Fi is
Can you explain the cash transfer system under NFSA, 2013? The law categorises beneficiaries as priority households and antyodaya anna yojana (AAY) families. The AAY families (the poorest of the poor) get 35 kg of ration. Otherwise, it is 5 kg per person. We are giving two options to the states. One, cash transfer; and second, the states can chose to install point of sa
In your view how cash transfer in PDS has fared in Puducherry? In my view the scheme is absolutely successful. It is one of the experiments that have worked very well. Primary reason is, people here are aware that it is a better idea to have money and buy from an open market as plenty of choices are available to them, rather than getting confined to a particular governme
Leilani Farha is UN’s special rapporteur (SR) on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context. She was appointed in May 2014 by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC). The feisty Ottawa-based lawyer presented her UN report themed ‘homelessness’ on March 7 to the HRC in its 3
Jean Dreze is equally concerned with theory of development economics as with its practice. A visiting professor at the department of economics in Ranchi University, he has extensively worked on issues related to hunger, famine, gender inequality, child health and education. He has also been at the forefront of several social movements, including the right-to-information and right-to-food ca
Anup Chetia, one of the founders and the general secretary of the banned United Liberation Front of Assam, is back in India and engaged in peace talks with the government. Also known as Golap Baruah and Bhaijan, he was extradited from Bangladesh in November, and was later released from Guwahati jail on bail. Chetia had been arrested in Dhaka in December 1997 for illegally entering Banglades
Veteran actor, writer and filmmaker, Padma Shri Nana Patekar is known for leading a simple life. In September 2015, along with noted Marathi actor, Makarand Anaspure, he started Naam Foundation to aid families of farmers affected by drought in Maharashtra. Talking to Geetanjali Mi
Is the freedom of expression being systematically suppressed in recent years? I do believe that there is a constant effort to do that, which is depressing. A free-thinking society signals growth, equality and development. But the changing scenario certainly puts a question mark on these. Is political intervention a reason for this shift?
National Trust is part of the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities under the ministry of social justice and empowerment. It works in particular for the welfare of people with four intellectual disabilities. Purnima Sharma spoke to its joint secretary and CEO CK Khaitan on how it is trying to bring change in the lives of persons with disabilities, or PwDs.
Ten years ago, Laxmi was only 15 when a self-styled lover had thrown acid on her face to avenge her for ignoring his romantic overtures. The acid had left Laxmi’s face scarred and also inflicted deeper psychological wounds. However, soon Laxmi met many other women with si
Why do you say that the Badals have used power to consolidate their personal businesses? What would you do about it if you come to power? In Punjab, it is public knowledge that the Badals have looted and robbed the state. They have completely monopolised the busin
Dr Najma Akbarali Heptulla, a former long-serving deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha, heads the minority affairs ministry. She is one of the only two Muslim faces in the Modi government, but she denies feeling alienated in the BJP, which seems to have a pro-majority image. In conversation with Sweta Ranjan, Dr Heptulla states that the image of her party is absolutely clean and it is determin
A Swedish citizen, an American green-card holder and a Bengali at heart craving to live in India; award-winning Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen wears many hats. So, when she agreed to meet me in New Delhi for a luncheon interview, I was wondering if I should be prepared to host a stereotype Bengali. Not taking chances, I checked the menu of Eau De Monsoon at Le Meridian
Long before the JNU row, renowned author Arundhati Roy who was once booked under the sedition law (which failed to stand up to judicial scrutiny) felt that justice is a thing which is o
Are you shocked that police are on the campus, somebody is behind bars without clear evidence and somebody else is not behind bars despite clear evidence? Are you shocked that after intolerance led to a killing and discrimination to a suicide, there is no end in sight for the harvest of hate? Ashis Nandy, our preeminent critic in the public sphere, did foresee a difficult times w
Eminent Odissi danseuse Sonal Mansingh is also proficient in other dancing styles like Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi and Chhau. Besides, she is a well known choreographer and social activist. Her dancing career began in Mumbai in 1962. Over the years she won international recognition and was conferred with many awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Padma Bhushan (1
