Programme has also failed in its target of providing a guaranteed employment of 100 days in a year to one person per family.
A sum of Rs 11.73 crore (Rs 117.3 million) was found to be misappropriated in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in Andhra Pradesh, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) has said.
Even as the flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme continues to face problems at the implementation level, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, ignoring suggestions by Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other economists, has refused to bring any major change in the scheme.
Sources in the Rural Development Ministry said the actual expenditure incurred in 2020-21 will be higher than the allocated funds and it will at least be at par with this year's total estimated expenditure of MGNREGS.
The recent draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) which pointed to misuse and non-utilisation of funds for the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme doesn't mean the programme is a write-off. The audit will act as a deterrent and spur state governments to work more efficiently, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has said.
Youth unemployment (ages 15 to 29) is higher than the national average of 12.4 per cent in Telangana (14.2 per cent) and Rajasthan (13 per cent), followed by Chhattisgarh (6.7 per cent) and MP (6 per cent).
In its report to the rural development ministry, the NLM has also noted that 60 per cent of the districts have 'unsatisfactory or irrelevant' choice of works under the Act and its technical supervision was also absent.
It is true that, at 119 crore person-days, the employment created this year by the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), the government's flagship programme, is tiny, a fraction of one percentage point of the total employment in the country.
This meant targets set for primary school admissions, assured income for every family and roads, water, housing and electricity. And yearly spending of over Rs 1,20,000 crore (Rs 1,200 billion), up from Rs 36,000 crore (Rs 360 billion) in the last year of the National Democratic Alliance government.
These are the highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday.
"The government is planning such a scheme (for urban poor)," minister of state for planning V Narayanasamy told reporters after assuming charge of his ministry in New Delhi on Wednesday. Under the NREGA scheme, which was launched in February 2006, the government provides 100 days of assured employment in a year to at least one person in a rural household.
Since there is no constraint on the availability of central funds for these programmes -- thanks to additional grants, over and above liberal allocations at the start -- tardy implementation by states seems wholly to blame for the lack of progress.
Andhra Pradesh Rural Development Minister V Vasant Kumar on Tuesday said the daily wages paid to workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the state will be enhanced from May 1.
Orissa, where the programme was already under a cloud after an NGO alleged false data were being entered on the state's NREGA website, is now uncovering more scams. A team of researchers led by economist Jean Dreze and Ritika Khera, which is doing a survey focussed mainly on the corruption in the programme in Orissa, recently dug out a doctored muster roll in Badhigam gram panchayat of Boudh district.
The minister said for eligible persons belonging to the violence-hit families seeking self-employment, the government would facilitate loans through banks.
A government-sponsored study on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has found large-scale corruption and irregularities in the implementation of the programme in several states with authorities in some areas misappropriating' central funds and threatening workers to keep their mouth shut."There was great fraud in the making (of job) cards, muster rolls were not maintained properly and work was not provided to job seekers sometimes," a team of researchers said.
Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Minister for Rural Development Programme, has announced that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has been launched in all the districts of country. In the first year 2006-2007 the scheme was implemented in 200 districts, in the next year it was extended to 130 districts & in 2008-2009 it covered the remaining 274 districts. Singh said that all those working under the scheme would be paid by cheque which will have to be deposited in the banks.
The debate on whether economic reforms and accelerated economic growth have led to faster reduction in poverty levels and employment growth continues to generate disagreement.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and demanded smooth transfer of funds for Central schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act and asked for help in holding the forthcoming Kumbh festival, cleaning of the Ganga and coal supply to the state.
In spite of receiving much criticism for his Budget, it has to be acknowledged that FM Chidambaram has pulled the right strings to increase allocations in various schemes. He has effectively curbed govt's spending and has also seen to it that money is not misdirected to wrong pockets. Confronted by political demands, he has responsibly maintained fiscal health and political agendas. He has shown finesse in handling political games and deserves credit for his accomplishments.
The outlay for the flagship programmes, which -- in addition to the Bharat Nirman scheme -- include the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and others, is proposed to be raised to Rs 1,23,000 crore (Rs 1,230 billion) during 2009-10 from Rs 90,000 crore last year, representing an increase of about 37 per cent.
Core sector companies have seen volumes drop to single digit in the first nine months of FY16.
The Unique Identification Number scheme, which is expected to roll out the first number in 12-18 months, will be first conferred on the beneficiaries of the the centre's flagship programme under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
All set for more public interactions even as PM has been critical of the apex auditor recently.
The Tamil Nadu development formula makes programmes like the NREGS work through simple but top-down solutions.
Ballooning fiscal deficit can derail India's growth momentum
Business establishments, shops, small factories, transport services and even central government programmes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Act are not functioning due to the strife between the Maoists and security forces. Tribals are unable to enter forests to collect kendu leaves which they sell for a living for fear of being rounded up by security forces.
Government will roll out National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme in all the 596 rural districts in the country in 2008-09.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for an urgent need to revamp the entire agriculture extension system in the country through community and private sector participation.
The banks are not ready to open accounts of the beneficiaries through the IT-enabled financial inclusion programme, which is running on a pilot basis in various districts of the state. "The panchayat staff do not co-operate with our business correspondents. They do not come forward to endorse the identity of the beneficiaries. How can we open accounts," asked an official from State Bank of Indore.
The forthcoming Budget is likely to make a provision of Rs 64,000 crore (Rs 640 billion) for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in 2011-12, against Rs 40,100 crore (Rs 401 billion) in the current fiscal.
Good monsoon is likely to create more jobs in the agriculture sector, which in turn could save the exchequer around Rs 10,000 crore
According to the announcement made by chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy yesterday the new wages would be paid to workers under NREGP from May 21 onwards. Reviewing the progress of NREGP works, the chief minister directed district collectors to take up and complete all works under the programme before the onset of monsoons so that funds available could be fully utilised.
American brokerage firm Morgan Stanley on Thursday sharply cut its India FY23 real GDP growth estimate to 7.9 per cent, mainly due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on oil prices. Analysts at the brokerage also raised their inflation forecast to 6 per cent - the upper end of the tolerance band for the RBI - and flagged stagflation risks because of the ongoing events. "We believe that the ongoing geopolitical tensions exacerbate external risks and impart a stagflationary impulse to the economy," they said. It can be noted that stagflation involves a stagnancy in output or growth, coupled with high inflation.
Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on Thursday sanctioned Rs 1,846 crore to Tamil Nadu under the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme and appreciated the efforts by the Tamil Nadu government in accelerating the programme.
Ramesh, a labourer in Toomda village near Bhopal, can't believe his luck. He earns Rs 81 a day, digging wells under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, the United Progressive Alliance's flagship social welfare scheme that started in 2006.
The TMC general secretary, considered number two in the party, shared the letter sent to him by the central agency on X, formerly Twitter.
Govt's grand plans often go wrong. Although they seem good in theory, they don't work in practice. For instance, last Pay Commission, which handed out generous pay hikes to central government employees on the unrealistic recommendation (which quickly became an assumption) that the number of such employees would be reduced by 3 per cent each year, totalling up to a cumulative reduction of 30% in a decade. Success comes with a special set of circumstances, not as routine.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances