-The Telegraph Sualkuchi: The sound of wood striking wood was missing, as was the sight of intricate and colourful patterns on silk taking shape on the loom. This silk town, around 35km from Guwahati and on the North Bank of the Brahmaputa, seemed to have lost its raison d'etre - producing silk products of fame - after the invasion of similar products bearing the name of another town on the bank of...

-The Indian Express Of late, there has been much public debate around the effectiveness of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), particularly on its targeting of the poor and the socioeconomic profile of its beneficiaries (most notably in this newspaper). It is important to look at these claims closely, not as much to counter them but as to present the real picture that has been undermined by often-unsubstantiated...

-PTI NAGPUR: A representative of MGNREGA workers has written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, drawing his attention towards the plight of persons employed in Vidarbha under the Centre's flagship rural job programme. In the letter, advocate Vinod Tiwari, a leader of MGNREGA Workers Employment Rights Action Committee, has requested Chavan to look into the plight of workers and issue necessary instructions to officials concerned. The committee has alleged that they...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Indian villages are powering their own economy, but contrary to conventional belief , it's not government largesses which are the drivers, but their own self-sustaining models. Growth at the bottom of the pyramid is at unprecedented level, and the transformation is stark. The factors driving this transformation are dramatic improvements in rural roads, electrification, cell phones and water supply which are raising wages and increasing job opportunities...

-The Hindu   To be dug in eight delta districts at a cost of Rs. 181 crore Chennai: At a time when the State, particularly Cauvery delta region, is in the midst of a drought, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has come in handy for the government to order the creation of 15,000 farm ponds in eight delta districts. The ponds are to be dug on lands of agriculturists who...