The Centre, last year, had also decided to freeze the minimum wage paid under NREGA at Rs 100. Subsequently, the wages paid in many states under NREGA are lower than the minimum wages in the state.
A study by eminent economists, by Jean Drze, Reetika Khera and Meghana Mungikar released few days back shows that more than 100 million people are excluded from the PDS because the central government insists on using 2011 population figures to calculate state-wise coverage under the National Food Security Act.
Last-mile verification with Aadhaar-Based Biometric Authentication have the worst record among other options available to check PDS pilferage. So the Centre's insistence on that option is bewildering, says Reetika Khera.
In case MGNREGA is expanded, officials said the total expenditure on farming-related works could reach up to 80 per cent of MGNREGA budget, as against the current 67 per cent.
The implication of a slowdown in the financial services sector are very different (eg, likely to affect fewer people directly, and even that affecting those at the top of the income distribution) from that of a slowdown in construction, one of the most employment intensive sectors in the Indian economy (that will affect aggregate demand much more).'
A recent study shows that more than 100 million people are excluded from the public distribution system because the central government insists on using 2011 population figures to calculate state-wise PDS coverage, which effectively leaves out 100 million people, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
"What the RTI Act did was to make available to citizens any information that could be provided, that the government was obliged to provide to a Member of Parliament (MP). In theory, that channel remains open to us," says prominent economist and RTI activist Reetika Khera about how Indian citizens could still have access to information that they want
Not only is your privacy stripped stark naked, says Mitali Saran, the system itself is illegal and vulnerable.
The government has opted for the RuPay debit card over the Aadhaar-based platform for "last-mile" authentication in its Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.
The idea that every citizen in this country is to be numbered is the primary thing in the project.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances