In the recent week, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has dealt three major, concerted blows to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA): (1) The Budget allocation for NREGA was reduced to just Rs 60,000 crore in 2023-24 (less than Rs 50,000 crore if we deduct wage arrears from 2022-23). This makes this year’s allocation the lowest as a proportion of GDP (0.2%) in the history of the programme. (2) The...
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Multi-pronged attack on media is underway, says Press Club of India chief
-Scroll.in Umakant Lakhera remarked that although a state of Emergency has not been declared, all its features are visible. A multi-pronged attack on the press is currently underway and a concerted effort is being made to portray the media as being dangerous to society, Press Club of India President Umakant Lakhera said on Monday. He made the statement during a meeting held on “Creeping Infringement of Media Freedom and Assault on Personal Liberty...
More »Adivasis of India’s Tribal Belt Knock on Delhi’s Door -Vikram Raj
-Newsclick.in Recently, many tribal activists, journalists and human rights activists from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra came to the Press Club of India to highlight the contemporary situation in the tribal belt of India. New Delhi: Understanding the scope and reasons for anti-tribal violence necessitates a state-by-state comparison. Tribals are oppressed in various ways in every state. The sex industry rings exploit tribals in Madhya Pradesh, while counter-insurgency operations against Maoists in Jharkhand,...
More »Is the govt. doing enough for the Jan Aushadhi scheme?
On Janaushadhi Diwas this year (i.e., March 7th, 2022), Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi stated that the poor and the middle-class benefited from the 'Jan Aushadhi Kendras' that were set up to provide generic drugs at affordable prices. He said that the poor and the middle class saved around Rs.13,000 crore through these stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of COVID 19 crisis, the 'Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India'...
More »Second Hunger Watch Survey shows high level of food insecurity among the poor & vulnerable people of 14 states
-Press release by the Right to Food Campaign Secretariat dated February 23, 2022 * 66 percent respondents said that their income has decreased compared to the pre-pandemic period * 80 percent reported some form of food insecurity, 25 percent reported severe food insecurity * 41 percent said that nutritional quality of their diet deteriorated compared to the pre-pandemic period * 67 percent could not afford cooking gas in the month preceding the survey. * 45...
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