Now, UIDAI to Enroll in Bihar, UP, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand

In a move that will facilitate faster roll-out of government's ambitious direct benefit transfer scheme in four most populous states, the Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India (CC UIDAI) on Tuesday allowed Nandan Nileknai-led UIDAI to do enrollments in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

So far, enrollment in these states was done by the Registrar General of India under the National Population Register project while UIDAI was enrolling in 18 states and Union territories.
But considering the slow progress in Aadhar enrollments in these politically-crucial states, the government has decided to allow UIDAI to do simultaneous enrollments here so that it could roll out DBTL programmes in these states as well.

As per the proposal, UIDAI will now enroll around 339 million people in these four states which is in addition to its mandate to issue Aadhaar cards to 600 million residents as per the original plan.

"The Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India (CC UIDAI) today approved reallocation of states for Aadhar enrollment. It was decided that enrollments by UIDAI in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand will start immediately," an official statement said, adding that the enhanced Aadhaar saturation level in these four highly populated states will enable rollout of DBTL schemes in these states as well. "An urgent need has been felt to increase the pace of Aadhaar enrollments in other states to enable a rapid rollout of DBTL," the statement said.
The UIDAI and Registrar General will work out modalities to ensure that there is no duplication in collection of biometrics.

UIDAI will commence enrollment immediately the financial cost of which will be borne by the finance ministry.

Government had been facing a major constraint in expanding its DBTL programmes due to lower levels of Aadhaar saturation in non-UIDAI states and Union territories. Besides, it is of the view that faster enrollments will help to optimally utilise the capacities that have been created by UIDAI for enrollments and back-end processing. At present, DBTL is in operation for 28 centrally-sponsored schemes in 121 districts.

So far, UIDAI has given Aadhaar numbers to around 561 million people while identification numbers generated through NPR is around 139 million.


Source: ET

Bihar first state to launch food security scheme

The National Food Security Act (NFSA), which guarantees foodgrains at nominal prices to the poor, was on Saturday launched in some districts of Bihar, making it the first state to do so.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who addressed a function marking the symbolic launch of the scheme, said 84% (6.90 crore) of the rural below poverty line (BPL) people and 74% (70 lakh) urban BPL population would be the beneficiaries of the scheme.

For now, it has been launched for Patna, Nalanda, Gopalganj and Purnia districts. The statewide launch would happen around February 20-21, when the Food Corporation of India would allocate the state food grains.

In an important development, Nitish promised that 40 lakh BPL families, which were left out in a survey that determines eligibility for food security scheme, will be entitled to subsidised foodgrains.

The beneficiaries would get 5 kg of foodgrains every month--- wheat at Rs. 2 per kg and rice at Rs. 3 per kg. Under NFSA, each beneficiary is a unit, unlike in targeted PDS, where the family is treated as a unit.
"Although 5 kg of foodgrains is not enough, it would spare some money for the poor to be spent on other nutrients," Kumar said.

A web portal of Bihar state food corporation was also launched to ensure transparency through GPS tracking and monitoring of vehicles carrying foodgrains from godowns to PDS dealers.

It would also help update stock position and lifting, besides providing a variety of other related information.

Nitish said the NFSA would put an additional annual burden of nearly Rs. 800 crore on the state government--- Rs. 400 crore on commissions to PDS dealers and Rs. 388 crore on doorstep delivery to PDS dealers.

"The Centre is just paying the cost of foodgrain meant for NFSA," he added.

Kumar hit out at the Centre for fixing the number of BPL families in Bihar at 65-70 lakh, while three surveys commissioned by the state government had put the number at 1.40 crore.

Source: HT

World Bank soon to have office in Bihar

The country director of World Bank, Onno Ruhl, said on Friday that his organization is thinking in terms of opening an office in Bihar as “I am infatuated with the state and wish to contribute to its development.”

Addressing a function of Innovation Forum she lauded the developmental initiatives of chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Surprisingly, she spoke in Hindi and appreciated the Jeevika scheme of the state government.

The chief minister, while speaking on the occasion, said the state government has set a target to constitute 10 lakh self help groups (SHGs) in Bihar by 2017. He said around two lakh such groups have already been formed.

Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS), an independent society set up by the state government and supported by World Bank, is running Jeevika with the objective of enhancing the social and economic empowerment of the rural poor in the state.

Nitish claimed that SHG women members have been successfully running public distribution system outlets.

He also awarded many Innovators who through water harvesting, mushroom cultivation and goat rearing have helped change the life of the people, especially in rural areas.