-The Indian Express Various financial irregularities have been found in the implementation of the country's flagship MNREGS in many districts of Madhya Pradesh, according to an audit report. The report on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme accounts for 2010-11, submitted to the state government in August, reveals financial discrepancies worth crores of rupees by the district in-charges. "In the audited account of 2010-11 of district office of Chhindwara, we have noted...

-The Business Standard The rural jobs scheme can boost productivity in farm and textiles sector. There is mounting evidence that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of 2005, under which 100 days of guaranteed wage employment a year was to be provided to target households, is failing to meet its stated objectives. The total cumulative expenditure since 2005 under the MGNREGA is officially estimated to be Rs 1,50,000 crore, and the...

-The Hindu Dudu (Rajasthan): The Union government launched an Aadhaar-enabled service delivery system here on Saturday with a promise of eliminating fraud, black-marketing, pilferage in schemes and bribery through a reliable mechanism of direct cash transfer to beneficiaries in a transparent manner. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the ambitious programme, which seeks to integrate the government-run flagship schemes with the Aadhaar card system at a...

-The Business Standard The government needs to be braver with cash transfers On October 20, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to launch the first major step in integrating the Unique ID, or Aadhaar, with government welfare schemes. The event is supposed to take place in Dudu, a town in Jaipur district in Congress-ruled Rajasthan. The presence of Congress President Sonia Gandhi also seems to suggest that the United Progressive Alliance...

-Outlook Expressing concern over complaints of corruption in MGNREGA projects, Union Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh today said the government has decided to conduct audit of ten per cent of villages on a random basis every year. Speaking to reporters after participating in 'Nirmal Bharat Yatra' at a village near here, Ramesh said, "I am concerned about complaints of corruption in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme from various states. At...