Non-payment of MGNREGA wages on time to workers and non-revision of daily wage rates, among other things, have kept the poor away from the programme in many states. When the notified daily wage rates under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (2005) Act (MGNREGA) for 2019-20 was announced on 26th March 2019, it became clear that the existing wage rates were not revised (viz. as compared to 2018-19) in...

-The Pioneer In the absence of any sunset clause or distinct feature to identify the beneficiaries who succeed in climbing themselves out of poverty, the scheme of direct cash transfer as an income support welfare measure and as a potent tool of empowerment does not sound convincing even on paper Thanks to the proposal for the universal basic income, it has become a topic for discussion as one-fifth population of this country...

  Growth in rural wages not only indicates economic prosperity of the masses, it is also considered important so as to generate effective demand for goods and services, which is produced by various sectors of the economy. When money becomes available in the hands of rural workers due to government spending on programmes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), it generates demand for commodities. The production of commodities...

-The Hindu Business Line Kochi (Kerala): The two-day conference on ‘Models for Agricultural Development: Experiences of Farmer Producer Companies’, has called for sustained efforts to strengthen, streamline, support and coordinate Farmer Producer Organisations. The conference, jointly organised by the Department of Agricultural Economics, Kerala Agriculture University and Indian Society of Agricultural Economics (ISAE), mooted a national level consortium to help the FPCs realise their goals and lead the efforts to enhance farmers’...

Recent studies and media reports have confirmed that Indian farmers are facing non-remunerative and sometimes falling prices. A past news alert by the Inclusive Media for Change team indicated deflation in wholesale prices of 8 kharif crops (viz. maize, arhar, moong, urad, groundnut, soybean, sunflower seed and Niger seed) on average between 2016-17 and 2018-19. Based on data analysis, that news alert also demonstrated how the rural areas have witnessed...