-The Indian Express New Delhi: Bihar, along with Chhattisgarh and Orissa, have recorded the highest improvement among all states in the operations of their public distribution system (PDS), measured by the extent of grain leakages taking place. Development economists Jean Dreze and Reetika Khera estimate that only 9.3 per cent of the foodgrains channeled through Chhattisgarh's PDS network failed to reach the intended consumers in 2011-12. This is a substantial reduction relative...

-IANS Civil society activists as well as economists Monday decried the "budget cuts" being made by the government for the rural employment guarantee act. The government seems to have decided to ignore its legal responsibility and is using budget cuts to rapidly dilute and undermine the rural employment act, the activists said at a press conference here. Economist Jayati Ghosh said that MGNREGA funding has not been keeping to its demand based requirements...

-The Hindu A new study has estimated that 46.7 per cent or 25.9 million metric tonnes (MMTs) of the grains (rice and wheat), released through the PDS, did not reach the intended beneficiaries in 2011-12. In the study, based on the latest NSSO data, by Chair Professor for Agriculture at ICRIER and former Chairman, Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), Ashok Gulati and Shweta Saini, Chhattisgarh was the best performing...

-Outlook Activists today accused the government of using budget cuts to "rapidly dilute and undermine" the rural job guarantee scheme MNREGA. On the occasion of 10th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), Jayati Ghosh of People's Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) alleged that an implicit budget cap was being put on the scheme and that there had been delay in release of funds. "The attack on MNREGA began before...

-The Hindu Business Line   Activists cry foul over ‘dilution' of the scheme New Delhi: On the ninth anniversary of the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Government and civil society organisations locked horns over the scheme's "alleged" dilution. At a press meet, activists complained of a "systematic effort" on the Finance Ministry's part to "finish" the scheme step by step. They alleged that the Centre, citing that...