-The Indian Express A report, prepared by a Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) committee states that wages under the rural employment guarantee scheme were last aligned to minimum wages in 2009, and that “there is no compelling reason to align MGNREGA and states minimum wages again”. New Delhi: THE PANEL for revision of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has recommended in its final report that there...

-Newsclick.in After months of dilly-dallying the Reserve Bank of India has finally come out with the figure that nearly 99 percent of the currency notes demonetised in November 2016, came back to the banking system. After months of dilly-dallying the Reserve Bank of India has finally come out with the figure that nearly 99 percent of the currency notes demonetised in November 2016, came back to the banking system. The total value...

-The Times of India Over a million Ashas and Ushas across the country are restive and angry, but nobody is listening to them. Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) and its urban counterpart known as USHA, are the business end of the gigantic public health apparatus run by the central and state governments. They are in every village, they visit every home, know every mother, every child, and they are the first 'port...

-Livemint.com The caste networks will disappear when the market economy starts to function efficiently The caste system is arguably the most distinctive feature of Indian society. The Indian population is divided into four hierarchical classes, or varnas, with a large sub-population of untouchables excluded entirely from the system. Within each of these classes, and among the untouchables, are thousands of castes, or jatis. The central rule in Hindu society is that individuals...

-The Times of India LAKHIMPUR KHERI: Residents of Choudhipur village in Mailani area in Lakhimpur Kheri district, 70 km from here, have refused to celebrate Independence Day as they felt that no development has happened in their village even 70 years after Independence. There is no electrification in the village and the roads are in terrible condition. The villagers are still forced to defecate in the open, as most of the...