The scheme has reduced rural migration and promoted financial inclusion, but needs to create more durable assets. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) – the only government social welfare scheme named after the other Gandhi, not belonging to Nehru-Gandhi family – has recently completed five years. The performance of the scheme, considered a major pillar of UPA government's strategy of inclusive growth, has been a matter of debate. The...

Massive backlog in submission of Detailed Contingent Bills 1,021 cases of misappropriation, defalcation, theft amounting to Rs. 407.97 crore as of March 2010 Large number of unfurnished utilisation certificates for grants to the tune of Rs.4,527.77 crore The pendency of Detailed Contingent (DC) Bills, once a subject of a free-for-all in the Bihar Assembly last year, has popped up again in the Comptroller and Auditor-General's report tabled in the Assembly on Wednesday. The audit...

The Power Ministry plans to impose huge penalties of over Rs 1 lakh per day on industries that fail to achieve energy efficiency targets under the three-year Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) programme starting April 1. PAT, which aims to increase industrial energy efficiency, is expected to bring down energy consumption by 5 per cent, amounting to an avoided capacity of over 5,600 MW over the three-year period. There would be strict...

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has cornered the state government, which had recently demanded a special package of Rs 2,500 crore for frost-hit farmers, in its report tabled in state Assembly today. The CAG has found gross irregularities, non-implementation of schemes, weak budgetary and expenditure controls in both original and supplementary budgets, rush of expenditure at the close of the financial year and underutilisation of central assistance. “The targets...

The issue regarding the seemingly poor response to the national rural employment guarantee scheme ( NREGS) of the central government dominated the proceedings of the gram sabha of the Chandor village panchayat held on Sunday. It was pointed out that several cardholders under the UPA government's flagship project had later failed to undertake the work allotted to them, thus crippling the progress of the scheme in the village. The program officer...