-The Hindu How the Centre’s approach has eroded the very premise of MGNREGA The disappointing allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the FY 2022-23 budget has created a buzz. Organisations such as the All India Kisan Sabha and NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM) have raised concerns about the inadequacy of the amount. Grassroots activists and academics have been demanding higher budgetary allocations for MGNREGA; yet, the...
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Last Among Equals: Power, Caste and Politics in Bihar’s Villages review: Last mile democracy -Amit Basole
-The Hindu In his book on Bihar, M.R. Sharan provides a closely observed, scholarly, and empathetic account of the struggle to make constitutional promises a reality in rural India M.R. Sharan’s splendid book brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. The scene is a public meeting at “Narega Chowk” in Ratnauli village, Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. Activists of Bihar Manrega Watch (BMW) are helping resolve grievances. An old woman...
More »The curious case of Meghalaya’s COVID-19 relief package -Rakshita Swamy and Angela Rangad
-The Hindu Audits, transparency and citizen-centric accountability need to be a part of fund support and disbursement Every COVID-19 wave in India has brought us face to face with the dire precarity of life and livelihood for India’s vast numbers of unorganised workers, and the inadequate response of the state and society to their plight. The latest global OXFAM inequality report highlights how India’s billionaires have grown dramatically in numbers and wealth,...
More »Budget allocation defeats spirit of rural job scheme, says report -Achintya Ganguly
-The Telegraph NREGA Watch finds low funds, delayed wage payment defeating spirit Ranchi: Frustrating budget allocation, delayed payment of wages and contractors-middlemen-official nexus, among other factors, are defeating the spirit of the rural job scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 in Jharkhand. A report card released on Wednesday by NREGA Watch, an NGO monitoring the scheme in the state, on the occasion of the 16th anniversary of commencement...
More »Budget 2022 Shows How Quickly We Forget the Social and Welfare Net That Served Us During COVID -Avani Kapur
-TheWire.in With revenues of the government expanding significantly, this was an opportunity to present a more expansive budget. Unfortunately, the budget made a clear choice. Unlike last year, this year expectations from Budget 2022-23 with respect to the social sector – particularly with respect to schemes for nutrition – were low. While India relied heavily during the peak of the pandemic last year on its welfare architecture, trends on the release of funds...
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