-The Indian Express The gaps in the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) continue to widen despite the scheme being in its tenth year. The last year (2014-15) has turned out to be worst year of the scheme since its inception in terms of the average number of days of employment provided to each household. The MGNREGA, introduced in February 2006 by the UPA government, promises 100 days...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The yearly wage revision for the rural Job Guarantee scheme has for the first time missed its April 1 deadline, with the government having sat for nine months on expert advice for a sizeable hike. Sources said the rural development ministry would next week notify an interim wage increase, based on the existing formula for yearly revisions, while the finance ministry weighs the expert panel's July recommendations. There are...

-The New Indian Express For now the storm is over. Untimely monsoons, which create much havoc for farmers, became a parliamentary allegory with the Congress raining on Modi's parade over the Land Bill. In spite of all the manoeuvring that will follow, clouds threaten to hang low over the next session too. This is indicated in Sonia Gandhi's decision to take to the streets in protest - a leaf taken from...

-Livemint.com Convergence aimed to synergize efforts to improve livelihoods through horticulture, plantation and farm forestry and collectively address climate change concerns New Delhi: Aiming to increase India's forest cover, address climate change concerns and achieve a faster growth rate in the rural economy, the government has decided to merge the Green India Mission (GIM) with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Since taking over in May 2014, Prime Minister...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Millions of villagers are on course to missing out on livelihood-sustaining work under the national job scheme this year if figures released by the government are any indication. The figures suggest that by the time this financial year draws to a close, far fewer families will have benefited under the scheme compared with 2013-14, while the number of persondays of work generated would also drop significantly. According to official...