Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the rural development ministry to develop an index for fixing and revising wages under rural job scheme NREGA. The move follows a letter from Sonia Gandhi requesting Singh to find a way to ensure workers under the scheme are paid the minimum wages across the country. The minimum wages in several states, such as Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Karnataka, are now higher than...
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PM rejects NAC's recommendation on minimum pay by Rukmini Shrinivasan
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has shot down the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council's recommendation that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) workers be paid the minimum wages set by states. The prime minister, in his December 31 letter to the UPA chairperson, clarified that the wage rate fixed by the central government would be indexed to inflation but not linked to the Minimum Wage Act. The PM's letter says...
More »Manmohan favours hike in MNREGA wages by K Balchand
Turns down Sonia's proposal for statutory minimum wages The battle for statutory minimum wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) seems to be on a slippery ground with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicating that the government could at best cover inflation-induced erosion of wages. In his December 31, 2010 letter, Dr. Singh has turned down the proposal of National Advisory Council chairperson Sonia Gandhi to pay MNREGA workers...
More »Improving NREGA
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has been hailed as a landmark initiative to alleviate poverty and generate productive wage employment, even if for only 100 days, for unskilled rural labour. Given its historic features, it is a pity that the rollout of the programme in many states has been less than satisfactory, and leakage of funds has become rampant. More worryingly, it has begun to have...
More »Plan to link NREGA wages to inflation hits CP Joshi wall by Priyadarshi Siddhanta
Rural Development Minister CP Joshi has refused to move on a proposal by the Planning Commission to link wages under the national job guarantee scheme to the consumer price index. In fact, the Plan panel’s proposal was echoed by the National Advisory Council chaired by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.In a presentation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently, the Planning Commission made a strong case for aligning the wage levels to...
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