-TheWire.in In Gujarat’s Chhota Udaipur, MNREGA has helped villagers increase their earnings, improved connectivity in the area and led to higher farm yields. In the ubiquitous environment of the withdrawal of the welfare state across the globe, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in India stands out as a critical and unique intervention. MNREGA is a social safety net that guarantees 100 days of employment to every rural household...

-The Hindu Erode: While non-government and welfare organisations are understandably keen to enable tribal communities on the hills to derive utility of abundance of bamboo on the hilly parts, there are indications of ambiguity over the status of implementation of Forest Rights Act 2006 under which bamboo is considered a minor forest produce. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had, during 2011, asked states to treat bamboo as a minor forest...

-Orissa Post Kaliapani: Even as eight months have passed since malnutrition deaths in hilltop Nagada village under Sukinda block in Jajpur district were reported, tribals in this area depend on salt and rice for their survival as benefits of welfare schemes still elude them. The state government was embarrassed after news spread that 22 kids of primitive Juang tribe had died due to alleged malnutrition in these villages. It was claimed that...

  Amidst concerns over budgetary cuts in social sector spending, a recent statement from Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State for Planning reveals that unemployment rate has risen much sharper among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) vis-à-vis the overall population. Replying to a starred question by Shri PL Punia regarding Human Development Index (HDI) of SCs and STs, the Minister of State for Planning said on 6 February,...

-PTI Pune: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's labour arm has asked the Narendra Modi government to take note of the "immediate adverse side effects" of demonetisation while welcoming what it called a "rare" opportunity to help those less privileged. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh also cautioned the government against pressuring people to go digital. "We take serious note of the immediate adverse side effects like defects in implementation, cash shortage, slowdown in market, job losses,...