West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee strongly retorted as 'distasteful' the taunt by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh while releasing the fourth installment of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act funds to her state that 'this reflects how sensitive the so-called 'brain-dead government in Delhi' is to the needs of the people of West Bengal'.
Rejecting Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's charge that his demand for Central Bureau of Investigation probe into Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act implementation was "politically motivated", Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday said he would not hesitate to recommend similar investigation even in Congress-ruled states.
Amid the controversy raging over the definition of poverty, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday claimed that they have resolved the issue.
Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India had recently stated that real estate projects were experiencing time and cost overruns due to shortage of labour because of schemes like Nrega.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh hit out at Opposition-backed candidate P A Sangma and one of his key backers Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for playing the tribal card in the Presidential polls.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday attacked the media for reporting that he had offered to quit the government and work for the party, calling it "juvenile" and refusing to answer any political questions.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday made a strong pitch for roping in organisations like those run by Catholic Church to bring development in Maoist-hit areas but asked them to respect the 'Lakshman Rekha' and not engage in "religious mobilisation".
In a 14-page letter to Mayawati, Ramesh cited the instances of alleged irregularities and corruption in implementation of the scheme in Balrampur, Gonda, Mahoba, Sonbhadra, Kushinagar, Mirzapur and Sant Kabir Nagar.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh for calling the former a 'super chief minister'.
New Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has, however, taken up the challenge on how to synchronise the employment guarantee programme with the ground realities.
The government on Friday continued its efforts to evolve consensus on the contentious land acquisition bill as Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh met Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley and CPM's Sitaram Yechury seeking their support.
Union Rural development Minister Jairam Ramesh is burning the midnight oil to bring the Land Acquisition and Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill 2011 before the Cabinet on Monday so that it can be cleared and then introduced in Parliament before the Monsoon Session ends on September 8.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has worked for weeks to prepare speeches and the Congress' Jaipur Declaration. "This is the Obama moment of the Congress, where the party is re-energised with the rise of young leadership," he said.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said it was not possible to cancel all the coal block allocations but asserted that no one, even if a minister or a senior official, would be spared if found involved in the coal scam.
As a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh since 2004, he has been putting all his Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) money in the SHG programmme in the state each year, and continues to do so.
In the continuing war of words between Congress and Trinamool Congress, the two ruling allies in West Bengal, Union Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday defended his comment that Congress had not taken a VRS from the state and said it would continue to speak its mind on the state's affairs.
With the recent strain with ally Trinamool Congress fresh in mind, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said the Congress would respect "coalition dharma" in West Bengal, but would continue its 'legitimate' political activities without hurting any party.
Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on Friday sanctioned Rs 125 crore for Andhra Pradesh as the first installment during 2012-13 under the Integrated Watershed Management Programme.
Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has said states would not be allowed to ignore the findings of the social audits notified recently by his ministry on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
Key point under deliberation remains the requisite number of people whose consent is required for acquisition of land by govt.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has kicked up yet another controversy by wiping his shoe with a garland of spun cotton that was given to him as a welcome gesture by Congress members at a public function in Bikaner district of Rajasthan.Chief Minister Ashok Gehot was also present at the function at Kolayat area in Bikaner on Monday, where the duo distributed sanction letters of the first installment of grant aid under the Mukhyamantri Gramin BPL Awas Yojana.
The direct cash transfer scheme is not a "jaadu ki chhadi" (magic wand) to reform a "broken down" delivery system and problems are there in its implementation, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday.
In a letter to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has outlined his concerns about the faulty implementation of the Indira Awaas Yojana in the state.
Ramesh had recently inaugurated DRDO's project at Odisha's Dhamra coast where they are installing 1000 bio-toilets to prevent open-defecation.
The Union government has released Rs 184 crore to the government of Tamil Nadu -- to construct one lakh houses for families living below the poverty line under the Indira Awaz Yojana -- in Cuddalore and Villupuram where Cyclone Thane had wreaked its havoc.
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's proposal about setting up an all-women bank -- first suggested in this year's budget -- received much acclaim.The proposed bank will lend mostly to women and women- run businesses, support women self-help groups and women's livelihood, Chidambaram had said.
Congress strategist and Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh in an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN has said that the 2014 general elections are not a battle between Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday issued a three-line whip to all of its Lok Sabha MPs asking them to be present in the House for the passing of the Union Budget 2025-26.
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.
Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh will answer your questions at noon on Monday, September 14, 2015.
It is premature to write the Congress' epitaph in 2014 because 10 years of incumbency have also seen some sterling performance, insists the Gandhi family confidant, says Aditi Phadnis
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had to intervene to control a "big fight" in Union Cabinet meeting between Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday, over serious differences on Assam and Jammu-Kashmir getting extra grants from the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
Narendra Modi speaking about Lokayukta is like Asaram "talking about virginity", Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Monday, hitting back at the Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate.
Let's take a look at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's new team:
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram is Congress nominee from Maharashtra for the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha while senior leaders Kapil Sibal and Jairam Ramesh have been named from Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka respectively.
Congress will fight against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and not BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections as the Sangh is now in control of the saffron party, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday.
The opposition party's remarks come after Bihar ministers claimed that the latest report of NITI Aayog's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index 2023-24 vindicated the state's long-standing demand for greater central financial assistance.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh believes that renaming the Land Acquisition Bill was felt necessary to eliminate the danger of the price spiralling once the first land is acquired in an area.
In a move to apparently woo All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Congress leader and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has offered an additional grant of over Rs 93 crore to her government, under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme. In a letter written to the CM, Ramesh mentions that the state government had utilised 60 per cent of the over Rs 273 crore allocated under the NRDWP.
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