-The Hindustan Times Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has taken his wrangle with finance minister P Chidambaram and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar over the Centre's job guarantee programme to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's court. Stung by their repeated assertions that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) schemes were having a negative impact on the availability of farm labour, Ramesh shot a note to the PM to "respond to the concerns raised by...

-Counter Currents The Aadhaar scheme of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is to provide India's billion-plus people with a unique identification number. Enrolling into the scheme was and still is not mandatory, though it was mentioned that it would be difficult for people to access public services in the absence of enrolment. The scheme requires individuals to provide their photograph, fingerprints and iris scan together with documentary personal information,...

-The Economic Times Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh explaining the positive impact of the rural employment guarantee programme on agricultural production. The note is in response to persistent claims by Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar that the rural employment scheme has adversely affected agriculture. Stressing on the positive impact of the UPA's employment programme, Ramesh has suggested that the Prime...

-The Hindu Chennai: The Tamil Nadu experiment of engaging thousands of differently abled persons under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has prompted the Union government to replicate the model in the rest of the country. “We have incorporated the TN model in our national guidelines,” according to Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh. What has impressed the Centre is not only the extent of engaging the differently-abled but...

-The Hindu The architects of the unique identification scheme are yet to provide satisfactory answers to concerns about data security The Aadhaar scheme of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is to provide India’s billion-plus people with a unique identification number. Enrolment is not mandatory, though it was mentioned that it would be difficult for people to access public services if not done. The scheme requires individuals to provide their photograph,...