In the sprawling third-floor hall of the Ministry of Finance’s North Block, where the air conditioning battles the June humidity and loses, a small plaque was unveiled last Thursday. It reads: “DBT 2.0 Mission Control — Samruddhi.” Behind it, a wall of screens displays, in real time, every direct benefit transfer moving from the Consolidated … Read more
Exactly a week after the Union Cabinet cleared the Pragati 2.0 scheme for students, it quietly approved an equally ambitious, if not more complex, intervention aimed at India’s women. On the evening of June 30, the Ministry of Women and Child Development issued a detailed 187-page implementation framework for the “Nari Shakti Samruddhi Mission” (NSSM), … Read more
The monsoon session of Parliament is still three weeks away, but the conversation in university corridors, coaching hubs in Kota, and WhatsApp groups of competitive exam aspirants has already shifted. On June 25, the Union Cabinet approved the much-anticipated “Pragati 2.0 – Student Empowerment and Future Readiness Scheme, 2026,” a sprawling, multi-pronged intervention that the … Read more
Throughout human history, the relationship between the individual and the collective has been a defining tension in the organization of society. In the modern era, this tension has crystallized into a fundamental question: what is the responsibility of the state towards its citizens? The answer, for most developed and developing nations, has been the establishment … Read more
For those who landed here from Mars: Ladli Behna Yojana was launched by the Madhya Pradesh government in 2023. The promise: ₹1,250 per month (later revised in some states to ₹1,000 or ₹1,500 depending on budget) directly transferred to the bank account of every eligible poor woman aged 21-60 years. No middlemen. No coupons. Just cash.Ladli Behna … Read more
The PM Vishwakarma Yojana (launched September 2023) is still active in 2026 for traditional artisans – carpenters, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, potters, cobblers, masons, doll makers, tailors, and about 18 other trades. The online application process has matured over three years, but confusion remains. I’ll tell you exactly how to apply, what documents actually work, and what … Read more
The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (launched in 2024, now evolving into 2026) is being hailed as India’s biggest rooftop solar push. But as we look at 2026 – two years into full implementation – the question isn’t whether the scheme exists. It’s whether the common middle-class household actually benefits or ends up tangled in paperwork, … Read more