-The Indian Express The scheme should be refocused towards creating durable assets in agriculture. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has a significant influence on agricultural operations and cultivation costs. If its present focus on community works can be reoriented to proactively promote improvements on the landholdings of small and marginal farmers through the creation of durable assets, it will be beneficial for agricultural productivity and incomes. Critics say that...

-The Indian Express In her letter to Gadkari, Raje said that some issues in the Act need a rethink. Reopening the debate over the UPA's flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has asked the Centre why it cannot be delivered as a scheme. "It is a moot issue why rural employment should be guaranteed by an Act, and why such employment cannot be delivered, or...

-The Hindu Business Line     Facing criticism for rising prices, the Modi Government has blamed public expenditure on schemes such as MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) for fuelling food inflation. Curiously, the BJP wants the job scheme to continue, with the focus mainly on agriculture. According to the agenda note circulated for Friday's Conference of State Food Ministers with the Centre, food inflation is caused by both demand and supply...

-The Indian Express Despite the bureaucratic mindset, there are also tremendous positive effects. As speculation mounts by the day that the Modi government is thinking of winding up the Planning Commission, this is an opportune moment to reflect on the relevance of the institution in the context of a rapidly changing Indian economy and society. One way of classifying institutions is in terms of the balance between their potential positive power (PPP) and...

-The Financial Express MGNREGA must be tweaked in implementation, not design. Before his tragic demise, the Union minister for rural development, Gopinath Munde, gave a clear indication of the new government's priorities on MGNREGA. Both these priorities are vital: using the programme for the creation of productive assets to combat drought and poverty and ensuring timely payment of wages. More than two decades of liberalisation and high economic growth have left India...