-TheWire.in From demonetisation to GST and now the lockdown, the government's policies towards the 'unorganised sector' has spelt nothing but rack and ruin. What has the BJP-led government of Narendra Modi done since 2014 that does not suggest it wishes to destroy the informal economy, also known as the unorganised sector? While the ‘unorganised’ informal economy now accounts for roughly half of India’s GDP – and is shrinking relative to the share of...
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Once Derided by Modi, Boost to MGNREGS Shows it's One of rural India's Few Safety Nets -Kabir Agarwal
-TheWire.in The increased allocation is welcome, but experts say the government should also work to solve pending liability issues and other techno-bureaucratic problems that hold back its effectiveness. New Delhi: On Sunday, while announcing the fifth and final tranche of the Centre’s COVID-19 economic relief package, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government will be allocating an additional Rs 40,000 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). “It...
More »Centre expands social safety net programme -Elizabeth Roche
-Livemint.com * MGNREGS guarantees 100 days of work in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work * In 2019-20, which was considered a normal monsoon year without rural distress, 2.65 billion person days were created NEW DELHI: The Union government on Sunday injected an extra ₹40,000 crore into the national rural jobs programme, extending a helping hand to millions of rural poor, as well as...
More »Ensuring food security in times of Covid-19 -Amita Bhaduri
-IndiaWaterPortal.org A study conducted in 47 districts indicates that over half of the surveyed households are eating less during lockdown. The study, ‘Covid-19 induced lockdown - How is hinterland coping’, based on a large survey undertaken by a consortium of civil society organisations undertook a rapid assessment of the impact of series of lockdowns on rural poor households. Of the many coping mechanisms, the most prominent was that over 50 percent of...
More »Most small farmers outside formal credit system. Sitharaman’s announcements won’t help them -Shoumitro Chatterjee and Mekhala Krishnamurthy
-ThePrint.in An RBI report says that despite numerous existing initiatives, at most 40 per cent of India’s small and marginal farmers are covered by formal credit. There is no doubt that agricultural credit is a critical element of both agricultural production and marketing across India. However, during a period of acute crisis, the government needs to bank on channels that are relatively robust and far-reaching. Unfortunately, especially when it comes to small...
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