-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government has moved a proposal for complete ban on child labour up to 14 years with the caveat that employment will only be allowed in family enterprises after school hours even as child rights activists have opposed the move. The labour ministry has sought Cabinet approval for an amendment to the Child Labour Prohibition Act which will allow children below the age of 14 to...

-The Indian Express Mumbai: Despite MGNREGA’s rich possibilities, Kumar notes that the Maharashtra government has slashed allocations under it to Rs 800 crore in 2014-15. Even as it stares at unprecedented crop loss from back-to-back droughts followed by untimely rains/hailstorms, Maharashtra has seemingly given the short shrift to MGNREGA, which could have gone some way in mitigating the current crisis. And significantly, its potential has been least leveraged in Vidarbha, the region...

-HuffingtonPost.in In the backdrop of workers taking to the streets on Labour Day to protest against their status, here is why the government's rural jobs guarantee programme presents an alarming picture today. Declining expenditure Central Government expenditure on NREGA declined from Rs 40,100 crores in 2010-11 to Rs 38,597 crores in 2014-5. In real terms, this means a decline of about 30% over four years. As a ratio of GDP, Central Government expenditure...

-Livemint.com The rural jobs scheme will be cost-effective only if assets created are of sufficient value to the poor, says bank New Delhi: Unless India’s rural job guarantee scheme can be turned around to create valuable assets, transferring cash directly to intended beneficiaries could reduce poverty faster, the World Bank said on Tuesday, joining an ongoing debate on the effectiveness of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). In its...

-The Hindu With unseasonal rain laying waste vast areas under the rabi crop in north India earlier this year and the threat of a deficient monsoon looming, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme could act as a real salve for distressed farm workers and labourers. The World Bank’s brief statement on the scheme on Tuesday to this effect, as part of its latest India Development Update, concurs with recent...