-The Hindu At least 150 days of work for each household of beneficiaries sought VISAKHAPATNAM: The Human Rights Forum (HRF) and ‘Samalochana’ on Saturday urged the State government to clear pending wages of the beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) immediately. Describing the scheme as the lifeline for millions of rural households amid the economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, they said a substantial portion of the...

-IDROnline.org Natural resource management activities under NREGA have the potential to help India increase carbon sequestration and combat climate change. The world’s largest anti-poverty programme may also help India achieve its target of creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent, through additional forest and tree cover, by 2030, in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) captured 102...

-The Hindu The Centre has decided to scrap the system of caste-based wage payments in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme after complaints from State Governments. In an order dated November 1, the Finance Ministry directed the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to “revert to the previous system of generating single muster, single FTO [or Fund Transfer Order] and transferring money into a single NeFMS [or National Electronic...

-Newsclick.in On Saturday, the Ministry of Rural Development denied that the rural jobs scheme was facing a shortage of funds. Its response, however, “leaves many questions unanswered,” according to civil society members. Activists have questioned the Centre’s response to media reports on the shortage of available funds for the rural employment guarantee scheme in the current financial year, by alleging that it is “misleading” and that it leaves many raised questions “unanswered.” Last...

-Down to Earth The focus of MGNREGA has, over time, shifted from employment creation to asset creation  The funds allocated in the Union budget 2021-22 for implementing schemes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) were exhausted within the first half of this financial year. The budgetary provision for 2021-22 was Rs 73,000 crore, of which Rs 79,810 crore has been spent. Many workers didn’t get paid; it may take...