-The Times of India Rural development ministerJairam Ramesh has written to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai seeking focused attention to the government's Rs 40,000-crore expenditure on MGNREGS, the flagship rural employment guarantee scheme, and to evaluate funds utilization by states. The minister has highlighted some deviations made by some states in his communication to the CAG, while requesting the auditor to make suggestions that could help the government "establish...
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Extend rural job scheme to industrial units: FICCI
-The Hindu Business Line Labour shortage, wage bill, loss of orders hit industry, says survey Labour shortage, wage increases and loss of confirmed orders are hitting industry hard, says a survey by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce of India (FICCI). If this were not enough, the UPA Government's flagship rural job scheme, MGNREGA, is adding to industry's labour woes by luring away casual workers, it adds. The survey, which found the impact of...
More »Rural job plan bill may go up by Subodh Ghildiyal
The Central expenditure on the job guarantee scheme may shoot up with civil society pressure that wages under the MGNREGAshould be governed by the Minimum Wages Act. NAC member Aruna Roy on Saturday urged Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi to implement the Karnataka high court order which has struck down the government order that wages under the scheme could be lower than the minimum wages in the state. The HC order...
More »Dividing the poor by TK Rajalakshmi
The flawed Bill on food security has not received the kind of publicity that the Lokpal Bill has, but that does not diminish its significance. “THIS government has divided everything and everyone. There are different cards for different sections of the poor. If my employer, taking pity on me, gives me an old television, I am not entitled to a yellow card [Below Poverty Line card]. My son who is...
More »Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Rural Development interviewed by Ruhi Tewari
Bringing an aggressive outlook to the ministry of rural development, Jairam Ramesh, who took charge of the portfolio in July, has attempted to address and fast-track contentious issues such as the proposed land acquisition legislation and the census for identifying households below the poverty line (BPL). Ramesh spoke in an interview about his blueprint for the ministry and revisiting controversial elements, including identifying the poor and poverty caps imposed by...
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