-The Indian Express The prime minister's Jan Dhan Yojana (JDY) is, in many ways, an improvement over previous financial-inclusion schemes. And with an aggressive target to cover 15 crore households with basic banking services, including an overdraft facility, debit card as well as accident and life insurance cover, it is the most ambitious attempt yet. However, to achieve its promise, the JDY needs to focus on implementation. As suggested by the...

Documents availed through RTI reveals that the Rural Development minister Shri Nitin Gadkari has ordered to bring drastic changes in the schedule of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which includes changing the labour to material ratio and restricting the implementation of MGNREGA in 1/3rd of backward blocks in India (please click here to access a note on labour-material ratio prepared by People's Action for Employment Guarantee-PAEG). The MoRD has notified the...

-The Times of India NEW delhi: Overriding objections raised by senior officials, rural development minister Nitin Gadkari has ordered far-reaching changes in the job guarantee scheme (MGNREGS) which has provided seasonal work to one in three rural households in the last eight years. Documents obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by activists show file notings by a senior official in the ministry arguing that Gadkari's announcements run contrary to the...

-ABPLive.in New delhi: A host of activists and academics have appealed to Narendra Modi to nip any move to dilute the 100-day village job scheme after rural development minister Nitin Gadkari brushed aside objections from within his own ministry. In a letter signed by over a hundred citizens, the signatories that included Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Jean Dreze, Harsh Mander, Prabhat Patnaik and Abhijit Sen sought the Prime Minister's "immediate assurance" that...

-The Times of India AHMEDABAD: The average annual minimum temperature in Gujarat is increasing by 0.02 degree celsius every year, while the maximum temperature is also increasing at the same rate. This was revealed in the 'State-Level Climate Change Trends in India' report of India Meteorological Department (IMD). The study was carried out by senior IMD officials L S Rathore, S D Attri and A K Jaswal. The report states that the...