The Planning Commission has raised concerns over people migrating from the countryside to cities in search of jobs. The Plan panel says that this ‘distress migration’ is mainly due to delayed disbursement of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or MGNREGA. It has asked the rural development ministry to expressly strengthen the Business Correspondent model to make payments to workers under the flagship welfare scheme. In the...

Mahesh Kundu paid 2,500 rupees for a driving licence, Rupam Bhatia 5,000 rupees to be admitted to hospital and Vishrant Chandra 6,000 rupees for a marriage certificate. These are the commonplace bribery stories experienced by middle-class Indians who have poured into the streets to say "enough is enough". Corruption in India is as old as the Ramayana, when the evil demon Ravana bribed a guardian of hell to avoid punishment in...

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Monday urged Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh to consider including the rearing of animals, dairy and coir industries, and water management under the ambit of jobs provided in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA). He wanted the Centre to include livelihood schemes, housing, and toilet construction in the list of works that could be undertaken under the MGNREGA. Mr. Chandy, who met Mr. Ramesh...

The Government has decided to introduce major reforms in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by bringing under its coverage agricultural activities like sowing, harvesting, soil preparation, irrigation, compost preparation and allied activities relating to livestock. Reforms have been planned to address issues of shortage of labours for agriculture-related activities. The job guarantee scheme will now have a farmers’ friendly face and rechristened as MGNREGA II. The...

The government plans to focus its flagship Rural Jobs guarantee plan on the poorest districts of the country as there is a growing recognition within the administration that the scheme's nation-wide rollout has adversely impacted its performance. Launched in 2006, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee programme promises at least 100 days of unskilled manual work in a year to each household in rural India. The scheme was initially...