-Economic and Political Weekly   Amendments proposed by the previous Congress-LED union government to the Panchayat (Extension to ScheduLED Areas) Act 1996 had the potential of improving upon this progressive legislation. Unfortunately, with its successor pursuing different priorities, the possibility of the amendments being passed remains rather low. Kamal Nayan Choubey (kamalnayanchoubey@gmail.com) is with the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. A bill for an amendment to the Panchayat (Extension to ScheduLED Areas)...

-The Financial Express As cuts in social sector spending in the forthcoming Union Budget are widely anticipated, the focus will be on two of the biggest flagship schemes - the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, both with individually high budget allocations. MGNREGA, launched by the Congress-LED UPA government in 2006, has been in the midst of controversy this year, with the NDA government being accused...

-The Hindu With India continuing to be plagued by malnutrition, it is foolhardy to use the changed food production situation in the domestic economy as a reason for dismantling the FCI Within months of assuming office, the BJP-LED National Democratic Alliance government set up a High Level Committee (HLC) in August 2014 to restructure, reorient and reform the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The eight-member HLC was chaired by senior BJP leader,...

-The Hindu Just 39 of the 568 Ministers in State govts are women When no women joined Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in taking the oath of office on Saturday, Delhi joined the ranks of seven other States with no women Ministers. In the rest of the States too, women representation in the Ministries is low, and often restricted to certain portfolios. With all State Assemblies put together, 360 of the country's...

-The Indian Express The Congress may be quick to attack the ruling NDA government for attempting to dilute the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) since it came to power, and for its poor implementation this year, but the high-profile constituencies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi have performed dismally under the scheme, ranking below the national average on most key parameters. MGNREGA, introduced in...