The government’s flagship rural employment scheme is struggling to make an impact as the capacity building in the scheme has slowed down to a crawl. The overall fund utilisation in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act, or MGNREGA, has plummeted to 60%. Most states were unable to utilise even half of the funds slotted for administrative expenses, stalling administrative reforms that are expected to increase the efficiency of the...

A campaign to spread awareness on the MNREGS through two television commercials failed to penetrate the rural masses because of faulty planning, an impact assessment study by the Union Ministry of Rural Development has found. The MNREGS awareness campaign was aired on cable and satellite channels in UP, Rajasthan, Bihar and the National Capital Region from January 23 to March 23, 2010. Seven months after the campaign, the ministry decided to conduct...

Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N. Santosh Hegde has expressed his reservations over activist Anna Hazare's decision to fast until the Union government passes the Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizens' ombudsman Bill). Mr. Hegde, who, along with Mr. Hazare and others, helped draft the Bill, said: “I wish he [Hazare] had waited for some time.” He was speaking to The Hindu on Tuesday after returning from New Delhi, where he participated in a consultation called...

The big newspapers are Indian, as much as they are ethnic or regional in character. Their choice of news reflects the upward mobility of middle class India. This report is based on a recently concluded survey of what newspapers covered over a two month period in late 2010. Our study took ten newspapers in five states: Hindustan Times (Delhi), Dainik Jagran (Delhi), Telegraph, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Deccan Chronicle, Dinathanti, the Hindu...

A meeting will be held here on April 13 to further discuss the recent murder of MGNREGA whistle blower Niyamat Ansari by Maoists in Latehar district to be attended by human rights activists and civil society members. The long-standing debate on Ansari's character and the role played by him has drawn Attention of human rights activists from all over the country. The MGNREGA activist was killed at a time when he...