Ashok Gehlot's Budget speech lays emphasis on social welfare measures Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's Budget speech in the Rajasthan Assembly here on Wednesday laid emphasis on “positive results” of the State Government's work during the previous year for development of various sectors, and made a number of announcements for the welfare of different sections of society. In a significant declaration, Mr. Gehlot said a State-level Advisory Council would be constituted shortly in...

For the first time since the launch of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the 2005-06 fiscal, the combined plan outlay for the Ministries of HRD and Health has surpassed that of the Department of Rural Development, which administers doles like the NREGS, old age pension and rural housing grants to the poor. The UPA regime has for the first time cut outlay — by about 2 per cent...

Demand stronger policies and end to disinvestment of public sector A “Workers' March to Parliament” in the Capital on Wednesday saw a heavy turnout of workers of various central trade unions protesting against price rise, unemployment, labour law violations and disinvestment. The participating organisations included the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, the Indian National Trade Union Congress, the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the Hind Mazdoor Sabha, the All-India United Trade...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has imposed a gag on India’s poverty data, saying no information must go out until it is vetted by the Planning Commission. The gag order applies to all central ministries and departments and is apparently triggered by the embarrassment over multiple data on Indians falling under the socially damning Below Poverty Line (BPL). The official line is that the government wants to have uniformity on all data and...

In a significant expansion of its health insurance scheme for the poor, the government has decided to bring workers under its flagship job guarantee programme as well as a host of workers from the Unorganised Sector, including rickshaw pullers and domestic workers. The labour ministry has decided to include workers who have worked under the National Rural Employment Guarantee programme for a minimum of 15 days under the ambit of the...