Government has proposed to launch an urban employment guarantee scheme on the lines of NREGA and give statutory sanctions to minimum wages. The proposal, which focuses on generating employment and enhancing employability among less advantaged, is part of the short-term strategies and targets of the government contained in the first Annual Report to the People on Employment. At present, states are under no obligation to implement revision of minimum wages...

The State Government has announced that it will be appointing ombudsman to monitor the works taken up under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister Jagadish Shettar, answering a query by S R Patil (Cong) in the Karnataka Legislative Council said that a vigilance committee as well as the ombudsman will be appointed to look into the problems. Patil, during the question hour,...

The power of the Gram Panchayats of sanctioning works under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has been curtailed down to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 10 lakh, said Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer P Shivashankar. Addressing the District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee meeting on Wednesday at ZP hall, he said that the step has been taken up by the Government following several complaints of misuse of funds under...

Eminent citizen AK Jain, who has been deputed to strengthen the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MG-NREGA) in Kokrajhar district expressed satisfaction over the progress of the scheme in Kokrajhar district and rated it as one of the best in Assam. Jain, who has been extensively visiting the sites of implementation of MG-NREGA since June 24 last expressed his satisfaction over the implementation of the...

To eliminate misuse and leakages from its flagship rural employment programme, India could introduce biometric-aided identity checks that can be verified remotely. The government’s initiative comes at a time when the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been criticized for leakages. It is the government’s largest social sector spending programme with allocation for this fiscal pegged at Rs40,100 crore. The proposal, which has already been submitted to the government for...