Can we afford to leave MG-NREGA alone? Why is the civil society crying foul? Are the rural activists demanding too much? Is the UPA-II trying to take back what UPA-I gave before the elections? Let us face it, the MG-NREGA is in a big crisis. NAC members like Aruna Roy and Jean Dreze have alleged (See links below) that the present remuneration of rural workers is declining by the day and it...

Having failed to reach an agreement with the government on the price control mechanism, Opposition parties, including the Left parties, Samajwadi Party and Telugu Desam Party, plan to oppose the contentious Seeds Bill, 2004 that the government is going to move in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday for consideration and passing. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has given notice for at least 30 amendments to the Bill on which there are major...

Facing heat from the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government, microfinance institutions (MFIs) acting under a banner called MFI Network (MFIN) have agreed to adopt corrective measures to address concerns raised by the state government. Coming up with a 15-point corrective measures statement, MFIs have agreed to bring down the interest rates to 24% initially to the borrowers of AP only. “It’s an initial decision and our CEOs across other states will be discussing...

Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan proposed amendment of various provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 on Monday. The society submitted its objection to the drafted rules to the commissioner of Rajasthan Parambhik Shiksha Parishad at Shiksha Sankul. It said private schools should not be given additional responsibility for providing free text books to the children of reserved category. The society also opposed Part...

The Union government is reneging on its legal obligation to pay minimum wages, even to the most deprived sections of the population, in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. If anyone wants to study the capacity of India's policymakers to turn a progressive piece of legislation upside down, the wage policy under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a good place to...