When a massive sum of public money is spent on a programme like Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA)--a demand-driven programme, there is likelihood of financial misappropriations and mismanagement. Thankfully there are checks and balances in the rural employment guarantee legislation to counter such malpractices. It is worth noting that the total allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA) for 2020-21 was Rs. 1,11,500.00 crore (R.E.), up...

-The Hindu Public works could provide valuable support to the urban poor, especially if women get most of the jobs The COVID-19 crisis has drawn attention to the insecurities that haunt the lives of the urban poor. Generally, they are less insecure than the rural poor, partly because fallback work is easier to find in urban areas — if only pulling a rickshaw or selling snacks. Still, the urban poor are exposed...

-The Indian Express The Punjab government claims that if the earnings of these boards are stopped, the state will find it difficult to maintain over 31,000-km of rural link roads as well as farmers’ welfare schemes, including the debt relief scheme. Jalandhar: The implementation of Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, which removes restrictions on farmers selling agri-produce outside the notified Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) yards, has not...

Although social activists and concerned economists demanded at least Rs. 1 lakh crore to be earmarked in favour of the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Finance Minister in her budget speech on 1st February allocated only Rs.61,500 crore to it for the financial year 2020-21. As compared to the fund spent on MGNREGA in 2019-20 (i.e. revised estimate of Rs.71,001.81 crore), the amount set aside for the...

-The Indian Express Nearly 5 lakh workers have been given employment under self-help groups (SHGs), which includes a large number of women workers. Lucknow: Of the 1.25 crore jobs allocated by the Uttar Pradesh government in a single day under different schemes and programmes, approximately 60 lakh jobs have been provided under the Rural Development Panchayati Raj Department, majority of which are under MGNREGA, and another nearly 50 lakh in MSME units...