The Rajasthan government today said it would index the payment for work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to the rate of inflation. This would be the first such move by any state since the Centre froze minimum wages for the scheme two years before, at Rs 100 a day. This is one of the conditions the government agreed to while arriving at a settlement with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti...
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NREGA wages: High Court raps governments
Comply with orders on minimum wages in two weeks, High Court tells State, Centre Justice N. Ramamohana Rao of the A.P. High Court on Tuesday gave two weeks to the State and Central governments to take steps to comply with the directions regarding payment of minimum wages to the workers engaged in NREGA works. Contempt case The judge was dealing with contempt case filed against Amita Shah, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Rural...
More »Farmer displacement will increase poverty by PSM Rao
Some people feel agriculture in India provides employment much beyond its capacity — that is, the number of people working on the farm is many times the actual requirement. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is among the proponents of this view. In his interaction with a group of editors last month, Singh said, “The only way we can raise our heads above poverty is for more people to be taken out of...
More »Shortchanged by Manoj Mitta
For Sonia Gandhi, the change could not have been more dramatic. Just last year, her contribution in pushing for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was hailed as the single largest reason for the fresh mandate received by a government avowedly dedicated to the aam aadmi. Yet, last week, Gandhi, as chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC) was reduced to lodging a complaint with Prime Minister...
More »Sonia writes to Manmohan on MNREGS wages by Vidya Subrahmaniam
Calls for “suitable directions” on paying statutory minimum wages A follow-up to NAC meeting, which felt there should be no deviation from statutory wages Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat Chief Ministers have also made a strong plea for minimum wages Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging “suitable directions” on paying statutory minimum wages to workers employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS). The November 11 letter is...
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