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Indian Express
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Modi govt using tech to ensure transparency': Minister Annapurna Devi flays Congress for opposing facial recognition tech in take-home ration distribution
Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Annapurna Devi on Monday hit out at the Congress that slammed the Centre for making facial recognition mandatory for distributing take-home ration through Anganwadi centres. She said the Modi government was using technology to ensure transparency and inclusion in welfare schemes. The Congress alleged that the Central Government was 'using technology to exclude' vulnerable sections of society from social welfare entitlements. In a communication to States and Union Territories last month, the WCD ministry stated that facial recognition will be mandatory for take-home ration distribution from July 1. The take-home ration (THR) scheme is meant for pregnant and lactating women. Additionally, facial recognition will also be made mandatory at the time of registration of beneficiaries of Anganwadi centres from August 1. For children (Anganwadis serve children from the ages of 0-6), the Aadhaar of the child's parent or guardian, along with face recognition, will be a precondition for registration. The child's Aadhaar will not be considered at the time of registration, going by the communication. In addition to the adult's facial recognition, the child's picture with 'liveliness detection' will be captured for children in the 3-6 age group. Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh wrote on X on Monday: 'The Modi government is systematically using technology to exclude the most vulnerable sections of society from social welfare entitlements. Now, pregnant women face a new hurdle: facial recognition technology (FRT) for basic and legal entitlements under the NFSA! (National Food Security Act).' Ramesh stated that technologies such as Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS), the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app, etc have proven to be exclusionary or have failed. 'The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports in its 365th Report on the Demand for Grants for the Women and Child Development Ministry had noted that the introduction of ABPS in the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) impacted the ability of eligible beneficiaries (i.e., pregnant and lactating women) to benefit from the scheme. The number of beneficiaries paid has dipped drastically, from 96 lakh women in FY19-20 to 27 lakh women in FY23-24,' he wrote. Responding to his post, WCD Minister Annapurna Devi wrote on X: 'With the help of modern technologies like Facial Recognition System (FRS), Biometric and Aadhaar, the government today is successful in reaching last mile beneficiaries.' 'It is wrong to say that the use of technology has led to a decline in PMMVY beneficiaries,' she wrote, adding that there were 72.05 lakh first-time beneficiaries of the scheme in 2019-20, 80.48 lakh in 2024-25, and over 27 lakh beneficiaries in the first quarter of 2025-26.
United News of India
23-06-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
Modi Govt using technology to exclude vulnerable groups from welfare schemes: Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi, June 23 (UNI) Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday accused the Modi government of systematically using technology to exclude the most vulnerable sections of society from accessing their rightful social welfare entitlements. In a post on X, the Rajya Sabha MP highlighted a series of technological measures which he claimed, have turned out to exclusionary in nature. 'Aadhaar was weaponised to block crores of workers from MGNREGA. Acid attack survivors had to battle in court just to enroll in Aadhaar. Adivasis across the country still lose rations to tech glitches,' he said. Ramesh also expressed concerns over the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) for delivering benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), warning that it could further become a hurdle for pregnant women. 'All over the world, evidence has emerged that FRT discriminates against class and colour of the skin,' he said. He also cited the failures of other technological platforms such as the Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS) and the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app. Ramesh pointed to findings from the 365th Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, which noted that the introduction of ABPS in the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) had severely impacted the ability of eligible pregnant and lactating women to receive benefits. 'The number of beneficiaries paid has dipped drastically, from 96 lakh women in FY19-20 to 27 lakh women in FY23-24,' he said. 'Still, the Modi government continues to introduce discriminatory technologies,' he said, adding that "Digital India should empower, not disempower". 'It must not remain a Preach Inclusion Practice Exclusion (PIPE) dream,' he added. UNI RBE RN
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Business Standard
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Govt using tech to deny social welfare to vulnerable sections: Congress
The Congress on Monday attacked the Modi government over the Women and Child Development Ministry ordering face recognition authentication to be made mandatory for anganwadi beneficiaries, alleging that it is systematically using technology to exclude the most vulnerable sections of society from social welfare entitlements. The opposition party also said Digital India must enable, not disempower, and it must not remain a "Preach Inclusion Practice Exclusion (PIPE) dream". The ministry has directed all states and Union territories to implement a mandatory face recognition system for take-home ration distribution and child attendance monitoring at anganwadi centres. According to a letter issued by the ministry last month, the face recognition feature will now be accessible within the beneficiary profiles on the Poshan tracker application. Beneficiaries will also have the option to self-register using the citizen module of the tracker for e-KYC and photo capture. Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Modi government is systematically using technology to exclude the most vulnerable sections of society from social welfare entitlements. "First, Aadhaar was weaponised to block crores of workers from MGNREGA. Acid attack survivors had to battle in court just to enrol in Aadhaar. Adivasis across the country still lose rations to tech glitches," he said in a post on X. "Now, pregnant women face a new hurdle: facial recognition technology (FRT) for basic and legal entitlements under the NFSA!" Ramesh said. All over the world, evidence has emerged that FRT discriminates against class and colour of the skin, he said. This is after other technologies such as Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS), the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app, etc. have proven to be exclusionary or have failed, Ramesh claimed. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports in its 365th Report on the Demand for Grants for the Women and Child Development Ministry had noted that the introduction of ABPS in the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana impacted the ability of eligible beneficiaries (i.e., pregnant and lactating women) to benefit from the scheme, he pointed out. The number of beneficiaries paid has dipped drastically, from 96 lakh women in FY19-20 to 27 lakh women in FY23-24, Ramesh said. "Still the Modi government brings yet another discriminatory India must enable, not disempower. It must not remain a Preach Inclusion Practice Exclusion ( PIPE) dream," he said. From July 1, marking attendance and recording hot cooked meal consumption for children aged 3-6 years will be compulsory across anganwadi centres. The same date marks the beginning of mandatory face recognition-based authentication for take-home ration distribution. The ministry has also said that from August 1, face recognition will be made mandatory at the time of new beneficiary registration. For pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescent girls, e-KYC and facial recognition via Aadhaar will be a prerequisite. In the case of children aged 0-6 years, the Aadhaar number of a parent or guardian will be required. For children in the 3-6 year age bracket, a photograph will be captured using liveliness detection, which will later be used during service delivery, according to the letter. Children transitioning from the 0-3 year group to the older category will also have to update their photographs accordingly. The ministry has urged state officials and field functionaries to facilitate beneficiary onboarding and encourage updating of Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers and photographs to ensure seamless authentication. The directive follows earlier communications from the ministry dated November 12, 2024, and March 5, 2025, which had outlined phased implementation of the face authentication module under the POSHAN tracker system. In the letter of March 5, the ministry had asked states to instruct the officers and field functionaries concerned in these projects for on-boarding the registered beneficiaries in a campaign mode and to ensure 100 per cent on-boarding of registered beneficiaries in all the projects by March 25.
The Hindu
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Centre trying to kill MGNREGS, says Congress leader Jairam Ramesh
The Congress has accused the government of trying to throttle the flagship rural employment programme — Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) — after it was revealed that for the first time since its implementation, the government has capped its spending at 60% of its annual allocation for the first half of the financial year 2025-26. Sharing a screenshot on social media platform X of a media report on the issue, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, 'How to kill MGNREGA in three easy steps — Step I: Starve MGNREGA of funds for a decade, resulting in stagnant wages and a massive rise in pending dues - amounting to ₹21,000 crores as of the beginning of this financial year Step II: Introduce the Finance Ministry's Monthly/Quarterly Expenditure Plan, restricting MGNREGA expenditure in the first six months of the financial year to 60% of the annual budget.' Step three he said, would be to stop providing work due to budget shortfall after payment of pending dues. 'Step I and II are in motion. Step III is coming soon,' Mr. Ramesh added. He said what needs to be done instead is that MGNREGS wages must be increased to ₹400 per day. He argued that the Aadhar Based Payment Bridge Systems (ABPS) must not be made mandatory. Wages must be paid within the statutory period of 15 days and any delay in payment must be compensated, Mr. Ramesh said. According to sources, this is the first time the government has introduced such a limitation on MGNREGA which is essentially a demand driven programme, where irrespective of the budget, if a beneficiary demands for work, the government has to provide for it. At the beginning of this Financial Year, the government brought the programme under — Monthly/Quarterly Expenditure Plan, which is a mechanism to regulate government expenditure. Majority of the programmes have a cap of 25% for each quarter. When the Ministry of Rural Development submitted its estimate for the first quarter, it was far beyond 25% of the total budget because of the pending liability. After much back and forth, the Finance Ministry sanctioned that out of the total outlay of MGNREGS of ₹86,000 crores, up to 60% can be spent over the next two quarters. This means that only ₹51,600 crores will be available for the scheme until the end of September.
Economic Times
11-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
How to kill MNREGA in three easy steps? Just follow these govt's 'tricks', says Jairam Ramesh
'Three easy steps to kill MNREGA' Live Events "What needs to be done instead" Raise daily wages to ₹400 to account for inflation and ensure basic livelihood security. Scrap the mandatory Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS), which he said creates unnecessary delays and exclusions. Ensure timely wage payments within the statutory 15-day limit, and compensate workers in case of delays. The govt's new rulebook (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Centre, reacting to a report by The Indian Express that revealed a significant policy shift in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS).The report stated that, for the first time, the central government has capped expenditure under MNREGA at 60% of its total annual budget for the first half of the financial year 2025– described the development as part of a deliberate "three-step formula" to systematically dismantle the rural employment scheme, which has served as a lifeline for millions of vulnerable households across to the Indian Express report , Ramesh outlined what he termed a calculated plan by the government to phase out the demand-driven scheme:Step 1: Starve MNREGA of funds over the years, resulting in stagnant wages and a growing backlog of pending payments, which now stands at a staggering ₹21,000 crore at the beginning of FY 2025– 2: Impose the Finance Ministry's Monthly/Quarterly Expenditure Plan (MEP/QEP) on MNREGA, restricting ministries to spend only 60% of the total annual allocation in the first six months—thus undermining the flexible, demand-based nature of the 3: With no funds left after clearing backlogs, bring work allocation under the scheme to a near halt, denying rural households their legal right to warned that the first two steps have already been executed, and the third is "now going to come out soon," which he said would mark the effective end of the scheme in response, the Congress leader laid out a list of corrective measures to safeguard and strengthen MNREGA:"Instead of fixing what's broken, the government seems to be dismantling the only safety net millions depend on," Ramesh said, accusing the Modi government of prioritizing fiscal optics over rural to the report, the Ministry of Finance has, for the first time, included MNREGA under its MEP/QEP framework — a cash flow management tool introduced in Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), which had previously resisted such constraints citing the scheme's demand-driven nature, reportedly submitted its quarterly expenditure plan as directed, only to be denied permission to exceed the 60% threshold in the first half of FY 2025– move, experts say, will likely slow down work allocations and further delay wage payments, especially during peak agricultural lean seasons when demand for rural jobs typically surges.
