-The Indian Express Can wages paid to NREGA workers from scheduled castes be counted as money spent on SCs’ welfare? The Rural Development Ministry believes it can, but Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Kumari Selja doesn’t buy the argument. She has shot off a letter to the Planning Commission, questioning the rationale of including Rs 10,000 crore of NREGA funds in the SC sub-plan, under which a mandated 16.2% — the percentage...

-The Hindu While Gujarat’s GDP growth in the last two decades has been notable, it is not reflected in employment, wages, health or education There is a widespread belief that Gujarat is a shining star on the Indian growth horizon and that all other States would do a great service to Indian masses by emulating the model of development that Gujarat embarked upon under the stewardship of Narendra Modi. A recent study,...

-Agence-France Presse Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has said that the country's public health system had "collapsed" in a blunt assessment of his government's failure to extend a social safety net for the poor. Mr Ramesh, known as a maverick with often outspoken views, stressed that 70 per cent of spending on health was out of people's own pockets, making it the single most important reason for indebtedness in rural areas. "We all...

-The Hindu Health sector outlay tripled to Rs.3-lakh crore Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday that the allocation for the health sector during the 12th Plan had been increased three times over the previous Plan allotment to address complex challenges. The outlay in the 12th Plan had been fixed at Rs. 3-lakh crore, which was 1.95 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. During the last Plan period, the sector had got...

-The Hindu Maharashtra government was well aware of these irregularities in 2010, but chose not to act   The Maharashtra government was well aware in 2010 of the gross irregularities in Vidarbha’s irrigation projects after a damning report by retired Water Resources Secretary Nandkumar Vadnere, who examined 11 major dams, 27 medium ones and 53 small projects as part of a one-member inquiry committee. In the second part of his report, Mr. Vadnere...