This is with reference to the report “Centre to step in Rajasthan MNREGS wage row” (Oct. 10) which cites the Union Rural Development Ministry Secretary Mr. B.K. Sinha as stating that the State Government of Rajasthan will have to pay the prescribed wage rate under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act/Scheme (MGNREGA) to workers under MGNREGA. This has not communicated the Union Secretary's point of view correctly. The...

Indefinite Mazdoor Satyagraha has been started at the Statue Circle in Jaipur against the irregularities in National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) programmes in the state. The NGO Rozgar Evum Suchna ke Adhikar ka Abhiyan (RA Abhiyan) oganized a Mazdoor Haq Yatra from September 15, 2010 - October 1, 2010 to fulfill the demands of workers. The agitation was launched following irregularities in NREGA schemes in the state. The NGO RA Abhiyan...

The Haryana government Monday warned banks against recovering outstanding loans from the wages earned by people under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Haryana Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary (panchayat and development department) P Raghavendra Rao said that banks, at their own level, could not recover their loan amount out of the monies received by them (banks) for payment as wages to those employed under MGNREGA. Rao said that...

The Aadhaar or UID project has grave implications for every Indian. It will enable the government to profile every citizen and track their movements and transactions. There is no guarantee that intimate personal information -- pre-existing illnesses, romantic relationships etc -- won't be shared with other agencies, warns Praful Bidwai. An elaborate charade has begun with the rolling out of the first Aadhaar unique identity numbers in a tribal district of Maharashtra by...

Despite recording robust economic growth over the last couple of decades and spending thousands of crores of rupees on subsidising foodgrain and other programmes aimed at improving the nation’s social indicators, India ranks a low 67 among 84 countries on the Global Hunger Index, 2010. The country has actually dropped two levels since last year on the index published jointly by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe and Concern...