Anxious to spur up the rural economy in the naxal-affected districts of the country, the Centre has underlined the imperativeness to implement the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in a more meaningful manner. Rural Development Department secretary Rita Sharma took up the matter with the Chief Secretaries of 15 States to impress upon them the need to ensure that the rural household received their due entitlements in accordance with...

With the national capital furiously gearing up to meet the deadlines of the Commonwealth Games, the alarming number of deaths of construction workers in absence of proper safety norms and adequate compensation is a cause of concern, say social activists. The actual number of accidents and casualties are much more but many such cases never get reported, they add. Fifty nine construction workers were killed and 115 suffered serious injuries...

Villagers in Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh agitate and get their dues under the rural job scheme; but the authorities are not giving up easily Villagers had to fight to get unemployment allowance worth Rs 14 lakh in Sitapur’s villages though this is something they are assured under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Villagers in Misrik and Pisawan blocks in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh would vouch for the benefit...

Breaking decades of silence over unjust social norms, widowed, abandoned and destitute women from different states in India came together at the national capital to launch the National Forum for Single Women's Rights to demand food, healthcare, employment and rights to property. It has been more than eight years since the January 2001 earthquake struck the Indian state of Gujarat, but Hansa Rathore still cannot quite shake off memories of...

Why would a politician turn cheerleader for those trying to dig dirt against the men and women who form the final but vital link in his political supply chain - the sarpanches or village heads? Perhaps to show his commitment to the government program he owes his job to. This month, Bhilwara in Rajasthan saw something best described as 'social service' meets 'crack investigation': around 1500 people voluntarily gathered and...