A broad coalition of 55 civil society groups from the US, Britain and Canada are coming together to demand the immediate release of jailed Indian rights activist Binayak Sen, who was recently given a life sentence by a Chhattisgarh court. In a statement, the coalition on Thursday demanded the repeal of alleged 'draconian laws' giving arbitrary power to the State that infringe on the fundamental rights of free speech, and the...
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Lip service to inclusive growth by Praful Bidwai
The key to the United Progressive Alliance’s return to power in 2009 lay in its promise of “inclusive growth” centred on the aam aadmi. On top of the launching of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), this gave the UPA immeasurably greater appeal and legitimacy than its rivals. But it also entailed obligations to implement other rights-based programmes, on food security, education and healthcare, among others. The National...
More »NREGS: 60% rise in funding possible by Jyoti Mukul
The government's biggest welfare programme could see an almost 60 per cent increase in funding. The forthcoming Budget is likely to make a provision of Rs 64,000 crore (Rs 640 billion) for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in 2011-12, against Rs 40,100 crore (Rs 401 billion) in the current fiscal. The huge increase in outlay will be mainly on account of two factors: Linking wages under the scheme with...
More »Binayak case: protests, black flags greet EU team
Protests and black flags greeted the eight-member team from the European Union who arrived in Raipur on Sunday night. The EU delegation, which include representatives of Delhi based diplomatic missions from Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Sweden and the UK, has come to witness human rights activist Binayak Sen's bail hearing. The hearing is scheduled to take place at the Chhattisgarh High Court in Bilaspur on Monday. They were accompanied by BJP's own...
More »NREGS could see a 60% increase in its outlay by Jyoti Mukul
The government’s biggest welfare programme could see an almost 60 per cent increase in funding. The forthcoming Budget is likely to make a provision of Rs 64,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in 2011-12, against Rs 40,100 crore in the current fiscal. The huge increase in outlay will be mainly on account of two factors: Linking wages under the scheme with the consumer price...
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