Small and marginal farmers have reason to cheer, as the Central government has decided to construct small tanks, wells and even horticulture plantations in their fields under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). Sources in the divisional commissionerate said the government has amended the act to include even small and marginal farmers belonging to backward community, including SC/ST, especially those holding farms smaller than two acres. These farmers will...
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Killed by the Food Bill by Nitin Sethi
At a time when some of the poorest belts of India are suffering from a monsoon failure the government, has decided to let lakhs of tonnes of food grain turn inedible in the godowns rather than give it to the needy. Ironically, it has used the proposed National Food Security Act as an excuse to not distribute the grains to the needy. The Supreme Court in its last hearing had...
More »“Muslim students in Bihar unable to open bank accounts” by Vidya Subrahmaniam
Complaints have reached the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MMA) that as in Andhra Pradesh, in Bihar too, banks have refused to allow tens of thousands of Muslim students to open scholarship accounts. On July 28, the MMA wrote to all State Chief Secretaries directing them to facilitate the opening of “no frills, nil balance” accounts by minority students. This followed feedback that in Andhra Pradesh banks had turned away as many...
More »Job scheme boosts rural household income 74% by Sandip Das
The employment guarantee scheme has resulted in a big spurt in not only wages but also household income in the rural areas, an analysis of the data since the beginning of the programme in 2006-07 show. While rural wages have risen 38% since 2006-07, household income saw a 74% increase in the four years up to 2009-10. This is despite the fact that just 13% of the 5 crore beneficiary families...
More »Quality auditing of rural job scheme to be conducted
The Union government has decided to conduct a quality auditing of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) in at least two districts in each State over the next eight months. A circular from the Ministry of Rural Development says the objective is to study whether the work carried out were properly planned, designed and executed and whether the assets created were of good quality, economical, productive and durable...
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