-Down to Earth India’s tribal communities have been pushed away from alluvial plains and fertile river basins, into the harshest ecological regions, the report notes   India’s tribal communities form 8.6 per cent of the country’s population according to the 2011 Census. But they are at the bottom of the country’s development pyramid even after 75 years of independence, according to a new report released November 28, 2022. The Tribal Development Report 2022,...

-The Hindu Allow more flexibility at the ground level, says internal study commissioned by the Ministry of Rural Development An internal study commissioned by the Ministry of Rural Development has argued for decentralisation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), allowing for more “flexibility” at the ground level.  The Ministry recently made public the report of the sixth Common Review Mission which surveyed seven States — Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh,...

-Newsclick.in Funds squeeze causes 14-17% refusals every year. The rural jobs guarantee scheme has emerged as a lifesaver for millions of Indians as they struggle with relentless unemployment. But official data shows that a very large number of job seekers are being turned away and not given work. In the first six months of the current financial year (April to October 2022) nearly 1.5 crore applicants for work were refused work.  This situation...

-The Hindu To ensure transparency, the Union Government had made it mandatory for all State Governments to use the mobile application to record attendance of workers Five months after the Union Government's order making it mandatory to capture attendance of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers through government mobile application-National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) at work sites where 20 or more workers are employed, at least three States —...

Contrary to the rising economic distress on the ground since the last few years, the official press release related to the fourth Annual Report on the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) at first glance seems to give a rosy picture about the employment situation in India.  Defined as the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force, the unemployment rate in usual status (principal activity status + subsidiary economic activity status)...