-TheWire.in Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Agricultural Land Ceiling (Amendment) Bill, 2015, unanimously passed in the two-day monsoon session of the Gujarat state assembly – after Congress MLAs were suspended for creating a “ruckus” –  is finally beginning to get national attention. The Bill is lying with President Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, awaiting his final nod after the Gujarat governor, O.P. Kohli, sent it to Delhi for approval.  According to sources, the risk-averse Kohli...

-The Hindu Business Line Calls for more formalisation of work, greater female participation New Delhi: Creative ‘Made in India’ anti-poverty policies, such as MGNREGA (rural job guarantee scheme) and PMGSY (rural road scheme), that helped stabilise and raise household incomes, continue to inspire the world, said a senior ILO official, adding that economic growth by itself is not enough to tackle growing income inequalities and create quality jobs. “The rising tide (of growth)...

The Skill India Mission was launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 15 July, 2015 with much fanfare. However, a new report from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) informs us that among persons aged 15 years and above, only 2.4 percent had technical degrees, diplomas or certificates in 2011-12. Based on the 68th round of National Sample Survey (NSS), the report says that the proportion...

-The Hindu Though outlawed in 1976, bonded labour lives and thrives in the State, as highlighted by the Sivaji Ganesan committee. However, the State continues to maintain an Ostrich-like attitude, failing to conduct periodic surveys and implement rehabilitation programmes The State of Karnataka in 2000 woke up to news about a certain medieval-era brutality being committed on bonded labourers, when the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha unearthed the case of five labourers being...

-The Hindu 36 States asked to end research and capacity-building. The Urban Development Ministry has asked 36 States to terminate their research and capacity-building measures under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), a move that will roll back the achievements of the scheme launched by the UPA government and render it defunct. Under the JNNURM, the State governments established Reform and Performance Management Cells (RPMCs), a body of experts to guide...