For Union minister C P Joshi the failure to handle the UPA goverment's flagship programme of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) resulted in his transition from rural development to surface transport. Joshi had not acted on a letter from Congress president Sonia Gandhi to raise MGNREGA wages and also stood in contempt of an Andhra Pradesh High Court order. Joshi was earlier seen as a trusted man...

Beleaguered by rising prices, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday termed sky-high onion prices a seasonal phenomenon and hoped that the picture will change in the coming months. “Onion prices have shot up as over 70% of crop from Nashik, which would have been ready for sale in December-January, was destroyed due to unseasonal rains. This has disturbed the cycle of supply in the country. It will be restored after...

The problem is all pervasive as the prices of almost all food items have been rising In a scenario that is all familiar in India and for that matter in many other countries too, rising food prices have become an extremely sensitive issue with major political and social ramifications that go well beyond the economic ones. Not that the economic consequences are unimportant. From the macroeconomic management point of view, rising food...

The Rangarajan committee further dilutes the proposals for the food security bill   The Rangarajan committee set up by the Prime Minister to examine the recommendations of the NAC on the food security bill has submitted its report. It is not surprising to see that it has argued against even the minimalist framework of the NAC saying that expanding the PDS is impossible due to procurement and fiscal constraints. Although the full...

As many as 9.063 lakh Manav Divas under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) have been created for the job card holders, since April in Dehradun district, said a department officers while talking to The Pioneer on Tuesday. He said that the department has spent `15.11 crore for providing employment to the job card holders under the MNREGA since April in the district. While talking to The Pioneer Doiwala Block...