-The Hindu It is now a decade since the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was launched, and it can be said with reasonable assurance that the programme has been largely successful in living up to what it set out to do: provide employment to India’s rural poor and improve their livelihoods. Sceptics of the spending programme, launched in 2006, had raised concerns that it would be yet another opportunity...

-The Hindu Business Line 10 years on, MGNREGA to get more funds   New Delhi: Barely three weeks ahead of Budget 2016-17, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley indicated that the government could increase budgetary allocations for rural and social schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The allocation may be even higher than the ₹35,000 crore allocated in 2015-16. “One engine to grow further, despite the global slowdown that has also impacted our exports, can...

-The Indian Express Jaitley says UPA govt left scheme in ‘pitiable’ state, Manmohan says Modi govt killed its ‘soul and spirit’ The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) completed 10 years on Tuesday, sparking a political slugfest as both the Congress and the BJP rushed to take credit for its “success”. While Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Narendra Modi government had given the scheme, allegedly in a “pitiable” state...

-The Hindu Ex-official says priority setting in India is based on consultation, not evidence. Bangkok: India faces serious challenges in implementing universal health coverage policies because of a “serious knowledge gap” among policy-makers and a “general unwillingness for change”, Rakesh Srivastava, former Director-General of Health Service, says. At a session on “Enabling better decisions for better health: embedding fair & systematic processes into priority setting for universal health coverage” here, Mr. Srivastava said...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: Out of 34 financial advisers representing different ministries and departments who held budget discussions, 50% were women, sources said. Seventeen women officials held discussions with finance secretary RP Watal along with other senior members in his team, according to sources. In 2012-13, there were just eight women financial advisers, and in 2014-15 there were 11. Financial advisers, who typically operate as chief finance officers of their ministries, are responsible for...