-The Tribune Demonetisation didn’t overly impact the sector, but devitalisation is a concern THERE has been a lot of speculation about the extent of damage due to demonetisation on agriculture. Small farmers suffered most because cash in hand means a lot to them. They were unable to pay for inputs like fertilisers, seeds and farm labour and experienced low demand for their perishable produce. The latest data from government’s agricultural ministry however...

-The Hindu The govt. will provide the complete unit cost of the ponds under MGNREGS Karnataka: In a bid to recharge the ground water table and enable farmers to provide water to domestic animals in summer, the Agriculture Department is promoting the construction of farm ponds. Farmers will be provided with the complete unit cost of farm ponds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS). Somasundra, Joint Director of Agriculture,...

-Down to Earth Finance Ministry has said that such parity is not possible as it would involve an additional burden of around Rs 10,000 crore on the exchequer The Union Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) puts on hold the consideration of bringing parity of MGNREGS wage with minimum wages of states as its proposal has not got an in-principle approval from the Finance Ministry. According to the MoRD, the finance ministry has...

-Livemint.com Rural ministry wants same parameters of rate change in MGNREGS as state wages New Delhi: The rural development ministry has put on hold a recommendation by a high-level panel constituted by the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government for parity between the wages paid under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the minimum wages set by different state governments. Rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha on Wednesday said the...

-Livemint.com One of the key trends underlying huge concentration of wealth and incomes is the increasing return to capital versus labour Given the demonetisation undertaken by the government in November 2016, the current budget was presented at a historic moment in the Indian economy. To understand the government’s emphasis on the rural economy, we have to understand a key narrative that must influence economic policies in democratic countries. As several governments in developed...