-PTI   Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today suggested the Rajasthan government to implement Banking Correspondent (BC) Model in the state for payment to MGNREGA workers in time. Ramesh, while attending a meeting with Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Minister Bharat Singh and social activist Aruna Roy, he said delay or late payment of wages discourages MGNREGA labourers and attributed this to absence of banks outside district headquarters. He said the BC...

Amid the furore over misappropriation of funds meant for development, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has proposed bringing all rural development programmes worth about Rs 90,000 crore under the ambit of the government Auditor. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh welcomed the proposition after he met CAG today to discuss the social Audit of the government's flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in all states. The minister said the matter would...

The former environment minister is making headlines once again. Just a week after taking over Rural Development, minister Jairam Ramesh is all set to make his ministry more transparent. The CAG will be Auditing the government�s flagship NREGA scheme in a few months. Sources say Ramesh had extensive discussions with CAG officials today and for the very first time the NREGA scheme will be undergoing an Audit in September of...

If there is one government programme that is beyond scrutiny, it surely is the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The scheme, which has attracted criticism on economic grounds by commentators and economists alike, has ample political backing. While the intent behind the scheme is beyond reproach, in practice, it’s yet to meet its promise. This is partly due to problems during implementation. Chief among this is the level...

Lucknow Many officials passed through the UP Family Welfare Department between 2009-11, the period during which there were massive irregularities in the National Rural Health Mission in the state, as confirmed by a recent review by a Central team. However, one official stayed at the top all along — Pradeep Shukla, a 1981-batch IAS officer, the Principal Secretary of Family Welfare, later also appointed the Mission Director of NRHM. So even...