-The Hindu Telangana’s experience is instructive The institutionalisation of “social audits” to ensure implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has been challenging. Since being included in the 2005 Act at the behest of social movements, social audits have been ineffective in most parts of the country due to government indifference. So far, 26 States have created social audit units (SAUs), but the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG’s) detailed guidelines...

-Press Statement by NREGA Watch Today, International Workers Day or “Mazdoor Diwas” was celebrated across Jharkhand by collectives of individuals and organisations, culminating a week long series of intensive activities. Thousands of workers gathered in over twenty five blocks across Jharkhand including Kisko (Lohardaga), Chattarpur (Palamu), Manika and Mahuadandh (Latehar), Raidih and Basia (Gumla), Topchanchi (Dhanbad) and Janiamore (Bokaro). Aside from workers, pensioners and other rural residents, these events were...

-Newsclick.in Despite the state being largely rural, the contribution of agriculture in the state’s gross domestic product is reducing considerably. The state of Himachal Pradesh has a predominantly rural population. Ninety per cent of the people here live in villages. There are 17,882 villages and about 59 urban settlements including two municipal corporations. There are more than 14.9 lakh families in the state. The total number of workers according to the census...

-Press Release by National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) New Delhi: Calling this year’s union budget ‘just an exercise in manipulation of numbers,’ veteran activist Medha Patkar asked, “When the major decisions like the demonetisation and GST are taken between two budgets then what’s the relevance of the Budget?,” at a panel discussion on the analysis of this year’s union budget with a special focus on Handloom, Fisheries, Dalits, Adivasis, Forest,...

-The Telegraph The Left in Bengal had often criticised him whenever he red-flagged excessive local tyranny, and spoke about the industrial decline in Bengal. The incumbent ruling party may make tall claims about changes in Bengal since the Trinamul government came to power but he has been candid enough to suggest that he hasn't seen much change either in industrial expansion or in investment in infrastructure. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has...