-The Hindu An anthology of independent evaluations of MGNREGA shows that it has provided income security, improved health, narrowed the gender gap and created useful assets   In the midst of the debates that prevail in this country over the feasibility of the world’s largest public works programme, the MGNREGA Sameeksha — an anthology of independent research studies and analysis on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, from 2006-2012 — is...

-The Indian Express Chief Minister Narendra Modi has blamed the high level of malnutrition in Gujarat on the predominantly vegetarian diet in the state and the “middle-class” being “more beauty conscious than health conscious”. In an interview to The Wall Street Journal, replying to a question on what he was doing to check malnutrition, Modi has been quoted as saying: “Gujarat is by and large a vegetarian state. And secondly, Gujarat is...

-The Economic Times Rural India is getting fast on the information superhighway. Rural India has 38 million claimed internet users and 31 million active internet users, according to a report on 'Internet in Rural India' by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB. The penetration of claimed internet users in rural India has grown from 2.6% in 2010 to 4.6% in 2012, a CAGR of 73%. On the other...

-The Hindustan Times A bill that seeks to strike a balance between Economic Growth and issues such as natural resources and livelihood of local residents was referred to a group of ministers (GoM) by the cabinet on Tuesday. The decision of the cabinet meant that the bill — titled The Right to Fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill (previously known as the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement...

-The Hindu The parliamentary stalemate continues on one of the greatest corruption scandals in Indian history. Allocation of natural resources has been a subject matter of public debate in the last two decades, particularly with the entry of the private sector in infrastructure development. Minerals are an important natural resource. The private sector has a great role to play in development of mineral-based industries. However, the policy of allocation of these...