-Hindustan Times The budget is about policy, and the budget speech has to strike a balance with politics. How well do they match? The allocation for MGNREGA is up 1% What Jaitley said: “Honourable Members would be happy to note that the budget provision of Rs. 38,500 crores under MGNREGA in 2016-17 has been increased to Rs. 48,000 crores in 2017-18. This is the highest ever allocation for MGNREGA.” What the numbers say: Yes,...
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Big purse for job scheme, still short
-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre today proposed its highest ever budget allocation for the rural job guarantee scheme but critics rued that the increase was just Rs 500 crore over the revised allocation last year. Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced Rs 48,000 crore for projects and payment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, flagging the hike from the Rs 38,500 crore allocated last year (See chart). Social activists, however,...
More »Feeding off the land -Anuradha Sengupta
-The Hindu Business Line An Odisha organisation is working hard to preserve traditional foods and prevent the mainstream from swallowing up local knowledge systems Inside a candy pink-and-yellow shamiana, a group of children in blue uniforms line up in front of stalls heaving with different kinds of foods. Tubers in shades of brown, beige and cream; pink and red berries; tiny yellow, orange and red tomatoes; leaves of many sizes and shapes;...
More »Work and welfare: MGNREGA 2.0 -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express The flagship rural jobs programme has shown improved performance after initial neglect by the Modi government. New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government may spend close to Rs 60,000 crore on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the current fiscal, a record for the programme that was a baby of the previous United Progressive Alliance regime. The Union Budget had allocated Rs 38,500 crore towards MGNREGA for...
More »A quiet revolution in farm mechanization -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com Madhya Pradesh is leading the way in setting up custom hiring centres, which rent out machinery to small farmers and employ rural youth to manage them Bhopal/ New Delhi: The frown on the face of Shakti Singh Tomar belies his recent successes. A 44-year-old farmer from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, Tomar proudly says he purchased a Mahindra Bolero SUV in 2014 by paying Rs. 8.1 lakh in cash. “Unlike others, I...
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