-Down to Earth MGNREGA budget has declined in real terms over the years, despite claims of “highest ever” allocations In 2004, before India had any legal welfare entitlements for the informal sector, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill, was furiously debated in the Parliament and the media. The aim of this legislation was to address the crisis of under employment and unemployment in the rural economy and provide job opportunities through public works...

-Frontline.in The death of nearly 60 children in Gorakhpur because of the unavailability of oxygen can be directly attributed to the larger issue of drastic reduction in budgetary allocations for and the gross neglect of the public health system. THE death of almost 60 children, including infants, in the government-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College Hospital in Gorakhpur within a span of 48 hours raises several issues relating to the state...

-The Indian Express A report, prepared by a Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) committee states that wages under the rural employment guarantee scheme were last aligned to minimum wages in 2009, and that “there is no compelling reason to align MGNREGA and states minimum wages again”. New Delhi: THE PANEL for revision of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has recommended in its final report that there...

-Livemint.com It is not just the low inflation reported in June which confirms a declining demand but also the macro fundamentals of the economy which belie any optimism of 7%-plus growth The second volume of the Economic Survey was presented on the last day of the monsoon session of Parliament on 11 August, preventing Parliament from holding a discussion on the state of the economy as outlined by the report. The second instalment,...

-Hindustan Times India’s public expenditure on health is rising, but not as fast as its burgeoning population of 1.3 billion, which grow by 26 million each year It’s not the lack of oxygen that kills hundreds of children in hospitals of Uttar Pradesh each year, it’s India’s abysmal public health delivery system. “Gorakhpur is the symbol of the collapse of the primary health care system. Why should people be forced to travel 200km...