-The Hindu The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employee Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) has generated more rural employment than any other government scheme or private initiative in the history of independent India. At the same time, it has also generated a great deal of controversy over its merits and demerits. It would be fair to say that the policy establishment in the country right now is not favourably disposed towards the MGNREGA, with the...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Union agriculture ministry is probing the circumstances under which a senior government scientist purportedly tried to malign vaccines used to protect livestock from foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks that can threaten India's milk yields. An expert panel from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has told the agriculture ministry that Bhoj Raj Singh, a microbiologist at an ICAR research centre, has "caused damage" to the reputation of India's foot-and-mouth...

-The Hindu Mahant Maniyari, Bihar: October in Bihar is a month of festivals, but the mood in this village comprising 10,000 people in Kudhani block was far from celebratory. Hundreds of workers sat on a 32-day dharna in the village panchayat bhawan, festivals forgotten, their only demand being wages. Despite visits by district officials, what came of the protests were only cases slapped against four protestors. There are over 300 workers in...

-The Hindu Business Line Cut in funds is a major setback: civil society activists New Delhi: Economist Prabhat Patnaik and civil society activist Aruna Roy criticised the Narendra Modi government over various issues on Wednesday. Releasing a report card on the first year of NDA rule, they said the government is not displaying transparency and accountability to the people. Patnaik said all the explanation that the Centre is giving about the increase in...

-The Indian Express Mumbai: Aadhaar the basis of several fresh proposals, including introducing Aadhaar-based biometric systems in all Central government offices. Despite the decisive push given to it by the NDA government since it came to power and by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, the ambitious Aadhaar project is far from meeting its target of universal coverage by June this year, also impacting the Direct Benefits Transfer Scheme that is based...