-The Hindu The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employee Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) has generated more rural employment than any other government scheme or private initiative in the history of independent India. At the same time, it has also generated a great deal of controversy over its merits and demerits. It would be fair to say that the policy establishment in the country right now is not favourably disposed towards the MGNREGA, with the...
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The Lie Of The Land -Pavithra S Rangan
-Outlook In MP’s Bundelkhand region, a sarpanch-babu nexus means NREGA benefits dry up for the poor The Paper Trail How social sector cuts are playing out in one of India’s poorest parts For the first time ever, in 2014, Rs 1,000 cr, of a sanctioned Rs 4,000 cr budget for NREGA, not given to MP In 2015, only a small part of the budget released for two months. NREGA top officials say funds always...
More »Taking a comprehensive view of quakes -CP Rajendran
-The Hindu The tragic Nepal quake is an opportunity to learn and understand the threats of great temblors. The Nepal earthquake of April 25 is the largest in the Himalayan region since the 1934 quake which measured 8.2 on the Richter scale and destroyed not only parts of central Nepal but also the plains of northern Bihar in India. Mahatma Gandhi, shaken by the Bihar tragedy, wrote in the Harijan that the...
More »NREGA set for an outcome- focussed revamp -Ruhi Tewari
-The Indian Express The rural development ministry, that promises 100 days of guaranteed employment to those issued job cards, has sought to address both concerns in the current fiscal. The MGNREGA has been under scrutiny, of late, both from its traditional baiters as well supporters. The former’s attack has revolved around the programme — the flagship of the previous UPA dispensation — creating assets of poor quality, while the latter have been...
More »Tractor sales: Mirroring the rural distress -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express While tractor sales trebled during FY04-14, the last year saw a reversal in the trend with the agri industry facing multiple issues. If there is one indicator capturing the changes that took place in rural India over the past decade, along with the emerging signs of distress in the last year, it is the sales of tractors. Between 2003-04 and 2013-14, domestic tractor sales more than trebled from under...
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