Protesting social activists at Jantar Mantar (Delhi), who are fighting for better working conditions of MGNREGA workers, have recently shot off two demand letters – one addressed to the Finance Minister of India and the other to the Secretary of Department of Rural Development at the MoRD. The letter addressed to the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, dated 13 September, 2017, has been signed by eminent activists including Nikhil Dey,...

-The Indian Express Activists said that this goes against the spirit of the demand-driven scheme, which has seen a spurt in demand due to rural distress triggered by droughts, floods, and post-demonetisation reverse migration. New Delhi: CONSTANT under-funding of MGNREGA, the rural employment guarantee scheme, is leading to low employment generation on the ground, with only 46 days of work being provided per employed household on an average over the last five...

-Livemint.com Greater fiscal autonomy has not yet translated into higher spending on nutrition by states Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi once said, “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” Sadly, hunger and undernutrition continue to plague our country. India’s record in addressing undernutrition is abysmal. With a stunting rate of 38.4%, India accounts for about a third of the world’s stunted...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Seeking to protect farmers from price volatility by ensuring guaranteed price for their produce, the Centre will come out with a draft model law on contract farming this month. Once it is made public, stakeholders including farmers will be given 30 days to comment and give suggestions. A final 'model' contract farming Act is expected to be released in November after incorporating the suggestions. "The final model...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The demand for work under the rural job scheme has risen this financial year, with economists and social activists attributing it to the economic slowdown and the spectre of a drought in south India. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme has already generated 119 crore persondays in the first five months of the financial year, data on the rural development ministry's website show. This is 55...