-The Hindu Direct Benefits Transfer is potentially a game-changer, but with certain pre-requisites: Mihir Shah Planning Commission member, Mihir Shah, speaks to The Hindu about a wide range of issues, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and his contribution to the 12 Five-Year Plan. Excerpts: * The MGNREGA has come under criticism from many quarters, including the CAG. Do you feel this criticism is warranted? How do you...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Net-enabled cellphones to be distributed under MGNREGA
-PTI NEW DELHI: Net-enabled cellphones could soon be provided to 2.5 crore people under the MGNREGA scheme. The ambitious scheme to be launched ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 is aimed at enhancing tele-density in rural areas. According to the proposal, one person per family registered under MGNREGA scheme will be provided with the cellphone for which a recharge of Rs 30 per month will be provided for free for two...
More »Indian job-guarantee scheme reduces child malnutrition
-University of Oxford Babies in a rural area of India are less likely to suffer from acute malnutrition where their families are taking part in a job-guarantee programme to provide work with a guaranteed wage, an Oxford University study has found. However, the Indian government programme appears to have no effect on long-term malnutrition. While wages earned through the scheme helped families avoid starvation when seasonal agricultural jobs were in short supply, many...
More »India Rural Development Report 2012/13 launched
-Press Information Bureau The India Rural Development Report 2012/13 was released here by Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Rural Development, Government of India. The Report was prepared by IDFC Foundation in collaboration with network partners, the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), the Institute for Rural Management Anand (IRMA), and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), with contributions from several other researchers, experts and civil society organisations. On...
More »Millionaire mukhiyas -Alok Gupta
-Down to Earth Money pumped in development schemes in Bihar is giving rise to a new breed of village heads, flush with money and flexing muscles About a year ago killings and a spurt in the purchase of arms and luxury vehicles in extremely backward villages started to bother the Bihar police. It spied and found that mukhiyas, or village heads, had multiplied their assets beyond imagination. It took the police six...
More »