Within days of Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) recommending that the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act be amended in sync with the Right to Education (RTE) Act - promising free and compulsory education for children aged between 6 and 14 years - the labour ministry will hold a meeting with HRD officials on Wednesday. This is the first concrete action on NAC's recommendation. NAC's proposal, being supported by the...

The lone Indian activist on the 2011 TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, Aruna Roy has been more successful than most,  when it comes to getting the government’s attention. The Chennai-born former bureaucrat who was an instrumental force behind the revolutionary Right to Information Act has also been credited by the government for “incorporating strong citizen entitlements” in the ambitious National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). A constant...

-The Economic Times The government has told the Supreme Court that its flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MNREGA) is a social security safeguard and not an alternative employment avenue. Challenging the Karanataka High Court ruling on wages under the MGNREGA, the Centre has said that its flagship programme is a "supplement" and not a "replacement" for existing Employment opportunities. Though meant as a dole, the MNREGA programme has more...

This is the season to count blessings. India's greatest blessings are its adherence to the democratic system of governance, an independent judiciary, a free and fearless media, and an Election Commission that inspires confidence. I hope that soon India will have an independent and effective Lokpal, which will pave the way for a corruption-free India, a pre-requisite for a hunger-free India. The other major paradigm shift observed in recent years is...

Recognising the impact of schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), President Pratibha Patil on Thursday called for their further utilisation in the agriculture sector in the emerging scenario of “farm labour shortage and food security.” The President's comments are significant in the context of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's recent letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to suspend the MGNREGS during crop harvesting...