When a massive sum of public money is spent on a programme like Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA)--a demand-driven programme, there is likelihood of financial misappropriations and mismanagement. Thankfully there are checks and balances in the rural employment guarantee legislation to counter such malpractices. It is worth noting that the total allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA) for 2020-21 was Rs. 1,11,500.00 crore (R.E.), up...
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After helping clear workers’ dues, Jharkhand forest ranger gets notice for going to court -Abhishek Angad
-The Indian Express The matter dates back to December last year, when several labourers held a protest outside the Pakur Division Forest Office demanding due wages Ranchi: TWO MONTHS after a Jharkhand forest range officer filed a public interest litigation, seeking the High Court’s intervention in getting dues worth Rs 10 lakh released for labourers, the state government has issued a showcause notice to him asking why he should not be given...
More »Budgeting in a time of crisis -TCA Ramanujam
-The Hindu Keynesian economics offers guidelines for preparing the Budget The Great Depression wrecked the economies of the U.S. and Europe. In the words of Jonathan Alter, when Franklin Roosevelt became the American President in 1933, he was told: “Mr. President, if your programme succeeds you would be the greatest President in American history. If it fails, you will be the worst one”. Roosevelt replied: “If it fails, I will be the...
More »In rural India, over-reliance on digital technology has worsen financial exclusion -Rajendran Narayanan and Sakina Dhorajiwala
-The Indian Express A technological intervention must have a governance framework in which protection of rights must be fundamental and which provides more choices to the marginalised. Remember the early days of the internet, when it took several minutes to connect to the web through a dial-in modem? Or when you had to wait in line at an STD booth to make an outstation call? Since then, we have made massive strides...
More »Community action, with a focus on women’s well-being, can fight malnutrition -Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta
-The Indian Express Anganwadi workers, ASHAs, ANMs and anganwadi supervisors can work together with panchayat members to ensure that all children and mothers are covered with immunisation, antenatal care, maternity benefits and nutrition services On an MGNREGA worksite in Kolar, Karnataka, a male worker came up to me and said that men ought to be paid more than women. I asked him why. “Adhu yaavaagalu hange,” he replied: That was how it...
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