-The Hindu The govt. will provide the complete unit cost of the ponds under MGNREGS Karnataka: In a bid to recharge the ground water table and enable farmers to provide water to domestic animals in summer, the Agriculture Department is promoting the construction of farm ponds. Farmers will be provided with the complete unit cost of farm ponds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS). Somasundra, Joint Director of Agriculture,...

-Livemint.com MGNREGS has to cover significant ground to evolve as an effective demand driven asset creating public work programme Union finance minister Arun Jaitley’s claim that he was making the highest ever allocation to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in this year’s budge made headlines. Here are five questions which can help understand why MGNREGS related discussion needs to go beyond talks of budgetary allocation. * Is 2017-18 record allocation for...

-Livemint.com Rural ministry wants same parameters of rate change in MGNREGS as state wages New Delhi: The rural development ministry has put on hold a recommendation by a high-level panel constituted by the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government for parity between the wages paid under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the minimum wages set by different state governments. Rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha on Wednesday said the...

-Livemint.com It should lay to rest the ongoing debate about this government’s attempt to radically restructure India’s welfare architecture There were no surprises—no helicopter drop of money into Jan-Dhan accounts, no move to dismantle ongoing welfare schemes in favour of a universal basic income (UBI). Far from being the populist, game-changing budget that many had expected, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley presented a sombre, status quo budget which, apart from some tinkering...

-The Hindu FM allocates Rs.48,000 crore for MGNREGA; says it will be brought under digital scrutiny The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), once described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “living monument of the UPA’s failure,” got its highest ever allocation — Rs.48,000 crore — since its inception over a decade ago.   Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, indicated that the funds dispensed would come under increased digital scrutiny. “The...