Only 400,000 jobs a year were generated during UPA-1, compared with 12 million annually during the NDA’s tenure Key economic data released by the government on Friday shows that the first stint of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) generated a mere 400,000 jobs a year, compared with 12 million jobs annually during the tenure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). During the period 2004-05 to...

The Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) — the apex monitoring agency for the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) — on Thursday rejected the suggestion of the Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill Development’s (NCSD) to include providing “skill development” to unskilled wage seekers under the scheme. “While agreeing that skill development was necessary, it was decided that adding the additional feature into the NREGS may not be viable...

The Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, has been launched for slum dwellers and the urban poor on the lines of the Indira Awas Yojana for the rural poor. RAY is a right-based, reform-driven programme under the Jawaharlal National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). It has been launched with the aim of creating a slum-free India by providing affordable housing for slum dwellers. A Guwahati...

-The Indian Express   Reeling under the pressure of huge foodgrain stocks, well above the storage capacity across the country, the government on Thursday decided to send 50 lakh tonnes of grains to the states at much below the minimum support price (MSP), leaving a window open for export at a later date. “We will look into the issue once the Agriculture Minister is back in town,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is...

-PTI   A number of issues pertaining to rural development programmes such as Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana, National Rural Livelihoods Mission and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act are likely to be discussed in a two-day conference beginning here tomorrow. Besides monitoring and evaluation of the development programmes, issues relating to District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) administration scheme will be discussed in the conference to be inaugurated and chaired by Minister of Rural...