In a move most ministries would shy away from, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has written to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, requesting him for a performance and financial audit of the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (NREGA), the most heavily funded flagship scheme of the UPA government. The minister has written to CAG Vinod Rai, who was recently criticised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for calling frequent...
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Don't blame MGNREGA by Shubhashis Gangopadhyay
Those who see a direct link between wage inflation and the employment guarantee scheme need to think again Rural wage rates have been rising at quite a fast rate in recent months. Farmers have been complaining about their inability to get cheap labour for their farms. Industry, too, has raised the alarm saying that this is squeezing their margins; higher rural wages mean fewer people are willing to work on construction...
More »The workforce misses the boat
-Live Mint Recent reports of the employment and unemployment surveys of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) have confirmed the fear of jobless growth during 2004-2010. This data has led to much debate, but the overwhelming consensus remains that the recent period of high gross domestic product (GDP) growth has not benefited the majority of workers. Although the debate is yet to settle, there have been arguments for looking at the data closely....
More »Raise income, lower inequality by Subir Roy
India’s disappointing human development status is well known. It is a virtual tailender among the newly emerging BRICS economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – which are expected to become the engine of global economic growth as the developed countries slow down. What is more serious is India’s status in its region. Not only is it well behind the long-term regional leader in development, Sri Lanka, it...
More »Malnourishment: children of SC, ST families worst-hit
-The Hindu A group of NGOs conducted a survey in 11 districts In the wake of the Department of Women and Child Development acknowledging that there are 72,000 severely malnourished children in the State, a group of NGOs conducted a survey of malnourished children in 11 districts. According to the study, the worst-affected are children from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe families where parents worked on daily wages. The study, which aimed at studying...
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