-The Hindu Business Line The National e-Governance Plan can ensure that higher devolution of funds translates into improved outcomes Cutting edge technology is, no doubt, empowering. The right application of technology can boost productivity in all sectors of the economy: agriculture, manufacturing, services, business and governmental activities. Technology enables informed decision-making, stakeholder participation and efficient service delivery and can help ensure transparency, accountability, and rule of law leading to inclusive good governance....

Two back-to-back reports that shed light on the status of MGNREGA implementation in the country, have been released recently from the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). A review of MGNREGA implementation in 8 different states of India by a team of experts during the month of May this year reveals that in many of the drought affected districts, the Gram Panchayats have no work to offer under the programme. (Please click...

-The Hindu Confining it to just the Ministry of Rural Development would be the most retrograde step in democratic decentralisation in over a quarter century. If, as The Hindu’s exclusive on Wednesday indicates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi were to close down the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, it would confirm one’s worst fears about his government’s hypocritical approach to grass-roots democracy for grass-roots development. This was a lacuna that was evident in the ‘Gujarat...

-The Times of India New Delhi: Tamil Nadu has taken the lead in skill training of urban poor in the past two years, followed by Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. The southern state has also left others far behind in providing financial assistance for setting up individual and group enterprises besides forming maximum number of self-help groups. According to a release of housing and poverty alleviation ministry, 4.54 lakh urban poor have...

-The Times of India RANCHI: Jharkhand government has bagged appreciation from the union ministry of rural development (MoRD) for its effective implementation of MGNREGA schemes. The centre has allowed 50 more blocks-- highest in the country-- to be included in CFT project (Convergence of MGNREGS, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and Cluster Facilitation Team (CFT)). Centre directed other states to take lesson from Jharkhand model and implement some of the best...