A subset of Sustainable Development Goals pertains to improving people's living standards at home. These include the provision of access to electricity, clean cooking energy, improved water and sanitation. We examine historical progress in energy access in relation to other living standards. We assess regional patterns in the pace of progress and relative priority accorded to these different services. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa would have to undergo unprecedented rates of improvement in energy access in order to achieve the goal of universal electrification by 2030.

The Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for reducing leakages in Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) subsidies has been widely advertised as a phenomenal success and has been used to promote Aadhaar and DBT in other spheres by prominent government officials. However, an analyses of various studies and data shows that the government’s tall claims of savings cannot be confirmed and leaves much to be questioned.