-The Hindustan Times What was inconceivable only few days ago in the corridors of the rural development ministry is now openly being pitched for - how to scale down UPA government's brainchild NREGA. Ministry officials are busy drawing up a blueprint for the new government to tweak NREGA in a bid to increase the efficiency of the 2006 rural job guarantee scheme. Some of the proposed changes include a focus on select blocks...
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Will rural flagship schemes change under Modi? -Jitendra
-Down to Earth Officials admit that MGNREGS and rural road development programmes suffered shortcomings in UPA regime Senior officials of ministry of rural development have gone into a huddle following questions regarding the performance of various ministries thrown by Narendra Modi, who will take oath as prime minister on May 26. The cabinet secretary has asked secretaries of different ministries to prepare a power point presentation on why benefits from a number of...
More »How not to run a programme-Nirmala Sitharaman
-The Indian Express MGNREGA is beset with failures of planning, execution, monitoring and accountability. This election season, we have seen the BJP seeking the people's mandate on the slogan "sab ka saath, sab ka vikas". The Congress harps primarily on a "we gave you" list. The first in this list is the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA). The 11th Five Year Plan recognised that 30 crore people lived below the...
More »Deciphering India through data -Padmaparna Ghosh
-The Times of India Prem Das Rai, an MP from Sikkim, knew that development indicators from his state were exceptional. But his office didn't know how to showcase them. He reached out to Swaniti, a Delhi-based not-for-profit organization that has been working "consulting style" with parliamentarians. Their portal called Jigyasa aims to answer questions like Rai's. Rwitwika Bhattacharya, Swaniti's founder-CEO, was surprised at what they uncovered. "I always thought that the...
More »Kanak-kaich bamboo cultivation helps small farmers-MJ Prabu
-The Hindu Whatever be the crop, farmers need guidance at the right time for harvesting a good yield. Right from availability of good seedlings, pest management strategies, regular visits to the plantation sites by experts and sourcing a good market for the produce are not only a farmer's tasks but also involve the experts dealing in the particular area. "The job becomes more challenging when one has to work among tribals and...
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