-Business Standard Even as country stares at a possible drought, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has hit a new low At a time when rural India is in distress, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which could have provided some relief, is itself facing its worst period ever. The number of people working under the scheme and the amount of work provided is dwindling, and the trend...
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Bihar’s earthquake toll due to poor condition of houses -Anupam Srivastava
-Down to Earth Census data shows Bihar among the three states with lowest proportion of houses which can be categorised ‘good’ What made Bihar vulnerable to the Nepal earthquake and led to the reported deaths of 38 persons in the state? Proximity to Nepal and, therefore, the epicenter is certainly a primary reason. The other major reason is the condition of houses in the state. Almost all the deaths due to an...
More »If you want to help the farmer -Vani S Kulkarni, Katsushi S Imai and Raghav Gaiha
-The Indian Express As the toll of human misery and suicide mounts, official estimates of farm losses due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms in March remain controversial, with hasty downward revision. Since these estimates are largely notional, without validation from field visits, such revision smacks of deliberate fiddling. On March 24, the agriculture ministry reported that crops on 18 million hectares — about 30 per cent of the rabi crops —...
More »Revamping public procurement -Mukul G Asher, Tarun Sharma & Shahana Sheikh
-The Hindu A properly designed and implemented procurement law is long overdue. It can improve financial management, and bring large financial and governance benefits Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s 2015-16 budget speech signalled the government’s commitment to formally legalise India’s public procurement system as a part of its continuing reforms in public financial management. Following this, the Ministry of Finance is seeking suggestions to refine the Public Procurement Bill of 2012, introduced by...
More »32% of undertrials jailed in Maharashtra are Muslims -Prafulla Marpakwar
-The Times of India MUMBAI: A disproportionately high number of undertrial prisoners in Maharashtra are Muslims. Data compiled by the Union home ministry reveals that while Muslims comprise about 12% of the state's total population, they make up nearly 32% of the undertrial population in prisons. Similarly, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes form 12% and 9% of Maharashtra's population, but they account for 18.15% and 18.34% of the undertrial population. NCP's Rajya...
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