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...

The issue of acquiring farmland for industry is threatening to jolt West Bengal's Left Front, the world's longest-running democratically elected Communist government, says Sumit Bhattacharya A confidential digital map shows exactly how many land owners had taken the compensation, how many had taken partial compensation, and how many had refused to part with their land for the botched Tata Nano plant in Singur, West Bengal. The map -- based on Global...

Low on economic progress, high on progressiveness. That sums up Darntoli, a tribal hamlet in Torpa block of Khunti district which clocked one of the highest sex ratios, 994 females for every 1,000 males in the 2011 Census, the provisional figures of which were released yesterday. According to 2001 Census, the figure was 971 females. The latest figures are much higher than the state average of 947 and the national average of...

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...

Haryana government has made all arrangements for smooth procurement of wheat during the Rabi season-2011. The state government was committed to make the payments to farmers within 48-72 hours, said state minister for food and supplies minister HS Chattha here on Thursday. The minister said the state arranged cash credit limit of R7,373 crore for purchase of wheat from Reserve Bank of India. Chattha said that wheat procurement season had been notified...