-Down to Earth UPA gives sops under MGNREGS to attract rural voters ahead of elections WITH most of its recent schemes struggling, a desperate UPA government is pinning its hopes on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to win votes in 2014 elections. The government is overhauling the employment scheme that helped it return to power in 2009 for a reason. It touches the lives of over 55 per cent...

-The Indian Express Social audits should not be judged by state response alone. They create awareness about rights and create engaged citizens. This article is in response to Farzana Afridi's ‘Social audit isn't enough' (IE, January 22). Social audits have been enshrined as one of the transparency and accountability tools in the MGNREGA. Such accountability mechanisms aim to strengthen the otherwise weak institutions of delivery as they engage the beneficiaries in the...

-The Business Standard In 2009-10, number of days a household got employment in a year in rural areas of Rajasthan was about 38, which steadily dropped to 23 in 2012-13 Rajasthan and Karnataka, which used to be stand-out performers of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)'s flagship scheme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), of late, are showing signs of faltering in terms of execution, raising a question mark on...

-The Telegraph The Centre has announced sweeping changes in rural employment scheme NREGA ahead of next summer's elections, promising family members of job cardholders more benefits and faster payments besides including new projects. Most changes are aimed at reducing Payment Delays, described by beneficiaries and activists as the bane of the UPA's showcase welfare plan. A highlight of the revamp is a plan to engage a family member of an NREGA worker as...

-The Telegraph Networks of private hospitals across India today said they would stop providing cashless services to beneficiaries of government-funded healthcare schemes from January 15 next year, citing delays in payments and "low" charges set by the government. Members of the Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI) said beneficiaries of the Central Government Health Scheme would need to pay for any treatment they seek from that date onwards and seek reimbursement...