-The Telegraph   New laws are often brought in without assessing their judicial and financial impact. The result is poor implementation, says Seetha Call it collateral damage. According to newspaper reports, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has written to the Prime Minister asking for the National rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) to be put on hold during the peak season of agricultural operations. With a guaranteed income of Rs 100 a day for at...

Anyone can talk big things, but nothing beats the old saying; “Action speaks louder than words”. How do we tackle the situation where most of the so called concerned people are actually opportunists who are waiting for someone to get the beating first and decide? What will happen in a society where everyone is an opportunist with illusionary autocratic mentality; sitting comfortably at a distance and only pointing fingers of...

-IANS Following reports of major irregularities in some districts, all rural schemes of the government will be audited by the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh told the Rajya Sabha Tuesday. Ramesh said that to start with the CAG will audit the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) in 12 states. 'All rural schemes will be the audited by CAG. We...

-The Financial Express   The Cabinet is likely to consider the National Food Security Bill which envisages subsidised foodgrain as legal entitlement for two third of the country's population on Tuesday. Once the Cabinet approves the bill, the food ministry will table in parliament during the current season. As per the food bill, 75% of the rural households will get subsidised grain and at least’ 46% households would be considered as ‘priority’ category, and...

How deluded we are when we think that when an important piece of legislation is introduced, policymakers carefully scrutinise it for some room for improvement. Indian democracy is good at passing progressive-sounding legislation that becomes unpopular later for poor implementation and a consequent feeling of letdown and therefore resentment. Often the problems of poor implementation that surface later stem from small mistakes in design that could have been corrected at...