-TheWire.in As a fresh spotlight hits India's Rural Employment programme, two suggestions have been offered to “repurpose” MGNREGA to utilise the additional labour force that have returned to their villages. Due to the sudden lockdown and resultant job losses, over one crore people have returned to their homes, some walking hundreds of kilometres, others using all conceivable means of transport – buses, trucks, trailers, concrete mixers, Shramik trains, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, auto...

-The Indian Express The report on money granted for work that was never done and employment that had never been created assumes significance as the state government has launched three schemes under MGNREGA, anticipating work demand from the nearly 5 lakh migrant workers who have returned home after lockdown hit livelihood in cities. Ranchi: A probe into work done under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in a block of...

-The Telegraph Seasonal sowing, MGNREGA boost prospects The grim employment scenario in urban India got aggravated while the rural sector showed some improvement in the last week of May, with researchers attributing the uptick in the villages to seasonal sowing activities and increase in work under the MGNREGA while calling the overall condition critical. Data released by private research group Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) show that the unemployment rate for the...

-The Hindu They give up seeking alms and take up work under MGNREGA Bengaluru: The lockdown has brought a change in the lives of four nomadic families, traditionally known as “Duramurgi” in Haveri district of north Karnataka, thanks to the Centre’s flagship rural job scheme. These nomadic families, for generations, have been seeking alms by roaming around villages carrying idols of deities on their heads. But with wandering made impossible under lockdown, and...

-The Hindu Economists urge cash transfers to 80% of households to revive economy. The Centre needs to announce a ₹10 lakh crore fiscal stimulus package providing universal food ration and cash transfers for 80% of households in order to revive the economy at this time, the Heterodox Economists Collective has urged. Employment guarantees must be expanded for both rural and urban workers at a time of soaring joblessness, the group of economists...