-Down to Earth State blames poor financial condition for the move The Bihar government has defended its recent move to lower its minimum wage rate offered to unskilled labourers, saying the state is in poor financial condition. Bihar has lowered its wage rate offered under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from Rs 144 to Rs 135, while the state minimum wage is Rs 168. This is despite the...
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A scheme for the poor, not a poor scheme-Neelakshi Mann and Varad Pande
-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...
More »Chavan urged to look into plight of MGNREGA workers
-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...
More »Bihar in reverse gear-Jitendra
-Down to Earth State plans to bring down its minimum wage rate to that under MGNREGA TO reduce the burden of the state exchequer by Rs 600 crore, Bihar has decided to reduce its minimum wage rate offered to unskilled labourers, and make it on a par with the rate offered under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). This is despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, in many cases, that...
More »UNDP brackets India with Equatorial Guinea in human development index
-The Hindu However, the country’s value increased 61 per cent from 1980 to 2012 India has been ranked 136 among 187 countries evaluated for human development index (HDI) — a measure for assessing progress in life expectancy, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living or gross national income per capita. The Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for 2013, released on Thursday, puts India’s HDI value for...
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