-The United Nations   Hundreds of millions of children in cities across the world are growing up in poverty and enduring deprivation, according to a report unveiled today by the United Nations, spotlighting social exclusion and calling for measures to give the youngsters access to basic services and opportunities for a better future. ‘The State of the World’s Children 2012’ report released by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), highlights the hardship that many...

  MGNREGA, which entitles millions of workers enrolled under it to at least Rs 100 a day for 100 days of work in a year, is undergoing an overhaul based on a set of recommendations of a committee headed by the Planning Commission member Mihir Shah.   Encapsulated in The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 - Operational Guidelines 2012 in what is being called “MGNREGA 2.0”, the recommendations aim for...

In a landmark decision, the Union rural development minister, Mr Jairam Ramesh, today announced that the flagship scheme MG-NREGA would be made more agriculture focused.   “At least 28 new work lists out of 30 suggested by the Planning Commission member Mihir Shah committee is agriculture based. We will have the major recommendations for NREGA-2 implemented from April 1, 2012,” Mr Ramesh told reporters after receiving the report from Mr Shah.   He,...

-The Economic Times   An expert group has recommended adding 30 agricultural and allied works under the Centre's flagship rural job guarantee scheme, in a revamp aimed at making the country's costliest social sector programme more effective.  As part of the overhaul of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the panel has also suggested an electronic fund management system to ensure timely transfer of money to needy districts.  The recommendations of...

-The Economic Times "We have no power." That's the message from India's most powerful - ministers in the central government's Cabinet - when asked to list the discretionary authority each enjoyed. Only one ministry concedes that it has some discretionary powers, which it is eager to shed.  Prodded by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a group of ministers (GoM) has the job of finding the discretionary powers enjoyed by each ministry and prune...