-The Indian Express The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) promises 100 days of work to every rural household annually. The government on Friday increased the number of workdays under its flagship rural jobs guarantee scheme for tribal households to 150, but official data show that no more than 11 per cent of Scheduled Tribe households have been able to complete even the promised 100 days of annual employment...
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Poisoned roots-Vandana Shiva
-The Asian Age "The replacement of the rich diversity of Punjab with monocultures of rice in the kharif season and wheat in the rabi season has also contributed to the impoverishment of the soils and farmers" The year 2014 marks the 30th anniversary of Operation Bluestar, a military operation which took place in June 1984 in Punjab. It was ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his...
More »UPA plans poll tweak for MNREGA
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Keeping an eye on the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the UPA government is considering to raise the workdays under its ambitious rural employment guarantee programme- MNREGA- from 100 to 150 days per year for forest dwellers and tribals. The Union Cabinet on Friday will consider the proposal for additional 50 days of employment to beneficiaries who have been granted land titles under The Scheduled Tribes and...
More »Giving agriculture its due
-The Hindu There are obviously several dimensions to India's recent agricultural performance which Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in his budget speech termed as "stellar". A week before the budget, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had announced that foodgrain production is on course to touch a new record of 263 million tonnes, up from 255.36 million tonnes last year. The good performance is seen with regard to other crops too. Estimates of...
More »Food security Act also covers foreign nationals, refugees, says Law Ministry -Amitav Ranjan
-The Indian Express MEA has been asked to provide details of the allowance to refugees to ascertain if they could be brought under food security The Union Law Ministry's opinion is that the food security legislation covers not just Indians but also foreign nationals and refugees. The ministry's legal affairs department gave this opinion in the backdrop of a 2012 petition by the Mool Pravah Akhil Bharat Nepal Ekta Samaj, saying that "the...
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