Every year in the month of either February or March, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) announces the notified MGNREGA wage rates (i.e., notified daily wage rates for MGNREGA workers) for various states and Union Territories (UTs) for the upcoming financial year. The MGNREGA rates are notified every year based on the increase in Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL). Like the previous years, in 2021 too, experts and civil...

-The Hindu Lack of technical support, glitches in the app and poor Internet connectivity pose problems The Union government has made capturing of attendance through its app, National Mobile Monitoring System, compulsory at worksites where 20 or more workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are employed. This move comes despite many problems, including patchy Internet connectivity in rural areas and little or no technical support. The Ministry of...

-The Hindu Health workers need better remuneration and safety guarantee, not just awards Recognition very often goes to those at the top of the pecking order, and stays there. Credit seldom trickles down to the worker at the bottom. The World Health Organization’s act of recognising India’s ASHA (accredited social health activists) and the polio workers of Afghanistan is an attempt to right that wrong. It is a rare, and commendable doffing...

-NDTV.com Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that he is "delighted that the entire team of ASHA workers have been conferred the WHO Director-General's Global Health Leaders' Award". New Delhi: ASHA, which means "hope" in English, comprises more than one million female volunteers. The World Health Organization Director-General's Global Health Leaders Awards has recognised ASHA's “crucial role in linking the community with the health system and ensuring that those living in rural...

-The Hindu CPI for agricultural and Rural Workers increased by 10 points each last month Rising food prices spurred an increase by 10 points each in the all-India Consumer Price Index (CPI) for agricultural and rural labourers, respectively, last month, the Ministry of Labour and Employment said in a release on Saturday. An increase in the prices of rice, wheat-atta, jowar, bajra, ragi, vegetables and fruits contributed the bulk of the spike in...