-Livemint.com Rural ministry wants same parameters of rate change in MGNREGS as state wages New Delhi: The rural development ministry has put on hold a recommendation by a high-level panel constituted by the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government for parity between the wages paid under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the minimum wages set by different state governments. Rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha on Wednesday said the...

-The Times of India Spending on education as a share of the central government's total budgeted expenditure has been falling for the past three years. Compared to 2013-14, the last year of UPA, when education got 4.57% of the total expenditure, there has been a steady decline — 3.65% in 2016-17, according to this Budget's revised estimate, with the estimated outlay for the coming year showing a minor uptick at 3.71%. Looking...

-The Hindu FM allocates Rs.48,000 crore for MGNREGA; says it will be brought under digital scrutiny The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), once described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “living monument of the UPA’s failure,” got its highest ever allocation — Rs.48,000 crore — since its inception over a decade ago.   Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, indicated that the funds dispensed would come under increased digital scrutiny. “The...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre today proposed its highest ever budget allocation for the rural job guarantee scheme but critics rued that the increase was just Rs 500 crore over the revised allocation last year. Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced Rs 48,000 crore for projects and payment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, flagging the hike from the Rs 38,500 crore allocated last year (See chart). Social activists, however,...

-NDTV The rock-star days are back for Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, who had maintained a studied silence ever since India scored an economic self-goal over his head on 8 November 2016. His ambitious Economic Survey, released on Tuesday, includes a much-awaited presentation of the Finance Ministry's thinking on Universal Basic Income (UBI). Contrary to some media reports, the Survey does not advocate a specific plan for UBI in India. Rather,...