Comply with orders on minimum wages in two weeks, High Court tells State, Centre Justice N. Ramamohana Rao of the A.P. High Court on Tuesday gave two weeks to the State and Central governments to take steps to comply with the directions regarding payment of minimum wages to the workers engaged in NREGA works. Contempt case The judge was dealing with contempt case filed against Amita Shah, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Rural...

More public private partnerships are needed to create opportunities for the rural population India might have created its mark in the services sector — especially in information technology — on the global map, but the development of the rural sector still has a lot of ground to cover. Discussing how to innovate rural entrepreneurship towards employment at the India Economic Summit, various speakers called for increased public private partnerships to create...

"Inclusiveness" may be the UPA's winning mantra, but a government survey reveals that just 18% households in rural India have access to basis amenities -- drinking water, sanitation and electricity. Urban areas enjoy these facilities in 68% households. While the UPA regained power on its "aam aadmi" plank, the NSSO survey highlights that a vast majority in rural India still lack basic civic amenities. Around 65% of rural households have no sanitation...

For Sonia Gandhi, the change could not have been more dramatic. Just last year, her contribution in pushing for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was hailed as the single largest reason for the fresh mandate received by a government avowedly dedicated to the aam aadmi. Yet, last week, Gandhi, as chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC) was reduced to lodging a complaint with Prime Minister...

Sonia Gandhi has written to the Prime Minister requesting him to find a way so that workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act are paid the minimum wages across the country. In a letter dated November 11, Sonia wrote: “Since the matter is of an urgent and inter-ministerial nature, you may wish to have it examined and give suitable directions.” The National Advisory Council, headed by Sonia, had in...