-The Times of India MADURAI: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), rolled out a decade ago, has impacted households and individuals in a positive as well as negative way, but the adverse impacts of the scheme could impact the nation's food security, according to an authoritative study. What may set the alarm bells ringing is the projected decline in acreage under rice cultivation in states like Tamil Nadu and...

-Business Standard Alleges while govt's providing incentives to corporate houses, cos are cutting jobs for more profit Chennai: The New Democratic Labour Front (NDLF) IT Employees Wing, a trade union, is planning to conduct a protest march next week against what it calls an unjustified dismissal of employees by IT firms. It is looking to represent around 20 employees who have been dismissed from various IT firms with the Tamil Nadu labour...

-The Hindu State government preparing its response to the model groundwater bill circulated by Central government The State government does not favour the idea of pricing groundwater for agriculture. The government, which is fine-tuning its response to the model groundwater bill circulated by the Central government, feels that the text of the model bill provides scope for the idea, which, if translated into action, will only attract controversies, says a senior official. Though...

-PTI Madurai: All sand quarries in Tamil Nadu would be closed down in three years and the government would undertake mining, storing and selling of sand at cheaper rates, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapaddi K. Palaniswami has said. “Sand quarrying will be completely stopped in the next three years. The Government will completely undertake sand quarrying, storing and selling of sand and make it available at cheaper rates,” he said yestreday. Palaniswami said...

-TheWire.in After the government cancelled certain cesses that were meant for labourers’ welfare in preparation for the GST, activists suspect that many such moves may be around the corner. Assaults on the hard-earned rights of several categories of workers have been on the rise in recent times, evidenced by the cancellation of cesses meant to be utilised for workers’ social security. If left unchecked, such changes can lead to much bigger losses...