The Government is finalising the blueprint for a scheme to enable a vast majority of the urban poor to own a house.   The housing and urban poverty alleviation (HUPA) ministry has proposed to stand in as guarantor for home loans up to Rs 5 lakh. Under the scheme, banks would be reimbursed up to 90 per cent in case the poor default on these loans. The scheme, targeting those earning less than...

Union Labour Minister inaugurates UPASI conference Action on representations relating to the Minimum Wages Act can only be taken by State governments, said Union Minister for Labour and Employment Mallikarjun Kharge in Coonoor on Sunday. He was inaugurating the 118th annual conference of the United Planters Association of Southern India (UPASI). Referring to the grievances of the planting community over the wage component adding considerably to the cost of production, he pointed...

Denial of labour entitlements to contract workers is at the root of urban squalor The human development report does not say anything new. It only sums up the outcome of policies being followed in this country. It does not, for instance, highlight the seeds that have manifested themselves in hunger and poverty. One of the seeds is the helpless labour enforcement machinery, which is unable to deal with the mammoth reality...

The political advantage enjoyed by the Congress for bringing the rural job scheme is under threat with five of its states underpaying workers, a revelation that has prompted the leadership against challenging a court order seeking parity between MGNREGA wages and minimum wages in a state.  The Karnataka high court recently ruled that wages under MGNREGA should at least be equal to the notified farm wages. The ruling would result in...

-The Business Standard   This year’s paddy procurement season has started with foodgrain stocks being more than double the buffer stock norms. An increase in grain stocks will put a strain on the already-scarce warehousing space, with consequences for safe storage and usability. Thus, excess holding of grains ought to be avoided. Maintaining a stockpile of nearly 55 million tonnes, with average economic cost of wheat and rice being Rs 18,000 per...