India needs more decentralisation, some states resistant to devolving power: EAC-PM chairman
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New Delhi (PTI): India needs greater decentralisation but in many states, there is resistance to devolving powers to local councils, according to Mahendra Dev, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).
At a ceremony to award the fourth Rohini Nayyar Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Rural Development, Dev said the level of decentralisation in China and the US is much higher.
"India needs greater decentralisation, which should involve giving more powers to panchayats and local bodies, along with increased use of technology in the agricultural sector to improve rural wages,... There is resistance in many states to devolving powers to local councils," he said.
Recalling the contribution of former economist and bureaucrat Rohini Nayyar, Dev said the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) through panchayats not only helped improve wages but also helped build trust in grassroots democracy.
He presented the prize to Pune's social entrepreneur Vidhya Parshuramkar for her contribution to making nutrition more accessible, sustainable and community-driven.
Parshuramkar leads Agrozee Organics and its flagship initiative, Millets Now.
An MTech in Food Technology from IIT Kharagpur, she discovered early in her journey how scientific innovation can transform traditional foods into modern nutritional solutions.
The award, instituted in 2022 in memory of Nayyar, comes with a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, a citation and a trophy.
The Rohini Nayyar Prize was instituted by the family of Nayyar, an eminent scholar-administrator who spent much of her professional life working on issues related to rural development in India.
The prize is given out annually by the Nayyar Foundation for Social and Economic Purpose.
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Madras HC seeks I-T report in Udhayanidhi Stalin poll affidavit 'discrepancies' case
Chennai (PTI): The Madras High Court on Wednesday sought a report from the Income Tax Department on the alleged discrepancies in the poll affidavits filed by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin seeking re-election from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni assembly constituency in Chennai.
A division bench of Chief Justice S A Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan sought a status report from the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, while hearing a plea from R Kumaravel of Chennai, seeking a probe into the assets declared by Udhayanidhi as a candidate in his election affidavit.
The bench posted the case to April 20 for further hearing.
The petitioner from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency, had alleged that there were discrepancies between the property details mentioned in the affidavit accompanying the nomination paper filed by the deputy chief minister in 2026 and the property details filed and the particulars mentioned in the affidavit for the 2021 polls.
A comparative analysis showed the "disappearance" of over Rs 7 crore in investments, Kumaravel claimed and sought a direction to the Election Commission of India and the returning officer for the constituency to verify the financial disclosures, sources of income, transactions and statutory filings made by Udhayanidhi.
Elections to the 234 Assembly constituencies spread across Tamil Nadu will be held on April 23.
