-The Indian Express ‘Expect 215 crore person-days of employment in 2016-17’ The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), the flagship welfare programme of the previous UPA dispensation, seems to have received a fresh lease of life. This, barely a year after PM Narendra Modi had called it a “living monument of your (the Congress’s) failure to tackle poverty in 60 years”. Arun Jaitley’s Union budget for 2016-17 has provided a...

-The Asian Age As one listened to finance minister Arun Jaitley deliver his third Budget speech, the overwhelming impression that was sought to be created was along anticipated lines. Here was a government whose heart was bleeding for the hapless farmer toiling in the fields, the agriculturist whose livelihood has been all but destroyed by two successive monsoon failures. Here was an administration whose representatives were concerned about the “curse of...

-Down to Earth The 2016 Budget has the right intent for the rural sector, but lacks clarity Union finance minister Arun Jaitley devoted a major part of his third budget speech to “transform India” and of the nine pillars to achieve the goal, three were on strengthening the rural sector. Altogether, the rural sector (including irrigation and agriculture) received close to Rs 200,000 crore this Budget, which makes one point clear:...

-Down to Earth Revival will lead to an increase in the net irrigation potential Noting that poor irrigation capacity is impacting agriculture during two consecutive drought years, Economic Survey 2015-16 has suggested utilising the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for efficient revival and maintenance of community assets such as tanks and other water bodies. The work will include desilting and repair of water bodies used for irrigation. According to...

-The Indian Express The average annual MGNREGA spend in TN, for instance, is two-and-a-half times more than that for Bihar. Is the PMGSY more pro-poor compared to MGNREGA? Going by where monies under the two programmes get spent, the answer could well be yes. In a recent analysis, NC Saxena, Distinguished Fellow of the policy think-tank Skoch Development Foundation and former Secretary, Planning Commission, has noted how the expenditure on MGNREGA is...