-TheWire.in The making of the Union Budget has been a far too secretive and hidden exercise. Social sector expenditure and allocations related to policy announcements should be matters of open ongoing debate. On December 20, 2017, a group of 60 eminent economists sent an open letter to the finance minister stating: “We are writing to draw your attention to two urgent priorities for the forthcoming budget.” The first was to increase the central...
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Political Messaging Masks Budget 2018's Actual Delivery in the Social Sector -Yamini Aiyar and Avani Kapur
-TheWire.in Even as schemes have received minimal allocations, this budget signals an important shift in the political narrative. Gone is the focus on jobs, skills, aspirations and empowerment. Arun Jaitley had a difficult choice to make this budget. Maintain fiscal prudence or respond to growing demands for public expenditure in light of growing rural distress and at the same time keeping an eye on 2019. He did this today with great panache....
More »In MGNREGA implementation, AP slipped to 8th position from top
-Deccan Chronicle As per the CM’s dashboard, the average wage achieved across the state is 86.18 per cent, and average days achieved is 62.92 per cent Vijayawada: The state government is examining the mode of MGNREGA payments and also investigating the reasons behind the delay of payments to the workers. It is observed by the chief secretary that five districts have paid more towards material components. The state government is worried about...
More »Jaitley may lend an ear to farm sector -TV Jayan
-The Hindu Business Line Lingering distress in the sector may force the govt to think innovatively New Delhi: Agriculture sector, which suffered badly despite higher production in the last two years, may be a key focus area for the NDA government, when it presents its last full-fledged Union Budget before the 2019 general elections. Attending a function recently in the Capital, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unequivocally said that that the farm sector...
More »With Shifting Accountability on NREGA Payment Delays, Workers Continue to Be Denied Their Due -Rajendran Narayanan, Sakina Dhorajiwala and Rajesh Golani
-TheWire.in Not only is the government failing to make timely payments, but the Centre’s definition of what constitutes a ‘delay’ is also flawed. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) guarantees 100 days of work in a year for every rural household that demands work. In the current financial year, over 152 crore person days of work has been generated through the programme. The Act mandates that every worker must...
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