-TheWire.in In Gujarat’s Chhota Udaipur, MNREGA has helped villagers increase their earnings, improved connectivity in the area and led to higher farm yields. In the ubiquitous environment of the withdrawal of the welfare state across the globe, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in India stands out as a critical and unique intervention. MNREGA is a social safety net that guarantees 100 days of employment to every rural household...

-The Hindu Business Line Rabi sowing down; sales of Tractors and two-wheelers dip Mumbai: The demonetisation of high-value currency notes seems to have crushed the tender green shoots of economic recovery in rural India by choking off life-sustaining money supply and impeding the wheels of commerce from spinning. From FMCG firms to two-wheelers to tractor makers, companies had been looking forward to an increase in rural demand in the wake of an adequate...

-The Hindu ‘When there are no signs of war why uproot poor farmers when crops are ready for harvest?’ The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have severely criticised the Union and Punjab government for evacuating the border villages in the State without proper arrangements. They accuse the government of spreading panic among people. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh said on Sunday that the Union government was creating war hysteria and tension along...

-The Indian Express The Centre is pushing and many states are implementing Direct Benefit Transfers – and encountering little political opposition The entire focus on ushering in a direct benefit transfer (DBT) regime for delivering subsidies to the targeted populations has so far centered around cooking gas, and to some extent, on isolated pilot experiments with food subsidy. Agriculture subsidies, especially on inputs other than fertilisers, have largely escaped attention in...

-Livemint.com Madhya Pradesh is leading the way in setting up custom hiring centres, which rent out machinery to small farmers and employ rural youth to manage them Bhopal/ New Delhi: The frown on the face of Shakti Singh Tomar belies his recent successes. A 44-year-old farmer from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, Tomar proudly says he purchased a Mahindra Bolero SUV in 2014 by paying Rs. 8.1 lakh in cash. “Unlike others, I...