Although India is a labour-surplus economy with an unlimited number of workers willing to work at a subsistence wage a paradoxical feature of the labour market is the rising incidence of scarcity or shortages amid a situation of potential plenty.
Amethi member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi's corporate style of electoral management is causing nightmares to those seeking Congress tickets for the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
An activist working for the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme was killed after being mercilessly beaten by a group of 12 Maoists at Jerua village in Latehar district of Jharkhand.
The government's bill for funding the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has risen steeply, due to its decision to revise wage rates under these projects and to link these to the inflation rate.
The plan could mature into either an umbrella programme for urban youths similar to the Garib Kalyan Rozgaar Abhiyaan or a modified urban-focused version of MGNREGS.
The latest measure assumes importance as it has come to the notice of the Orissa government that the payment of wages to some NREGS workers is not made within a fortnight. In some districts, the wages are not paid to the workers for months together. It is reportedly causing resentment among people prompting them to abstain from work.
Around 100 NREGA workers, engaged in digging a stretch of land for the past 13 days were paid a paltry Re 1 per day as wages with the district administration justifying the payment saying it was a small area collectively dug by the workers
RBI Governor has dismissed the notion that the rural employment guarantee programme is behind the massive spurt in wages in rural areas.
Govt, Left sort out differences over employment scheme
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.
Grain stocks in the current procurement season will be enough to feed all those who go hungry, and the FCI only needs to invest in proper storage facilities.
These villages don't have citizens and hence there is no National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme for them or any health services or cheap rations.
"Smart cards are a step towards financial inclusion. The idea is to inculcate banking habits among the poor," says Anita Ramachandra, director, rural development (self-help groups). The government is paying 2 per cent of the amount disbursed through smart cards to the banks to engage them in the initiative.
A nationwide strike called by central trade unions saw a mixed response across India, impacting various sectors and states differently, with some areas experiencing disruptions while others remained largely unaffected.
High drama was witnessed in Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh on Friday when Rahul Gandhi was stopped by the police, while leading scores of farmers to meet the divisional commissioner, provoking the young Congress leader to sit on the road on a dharna.The general secretary of the Congress was on his way for a meeting with P V Jaganmohan in a carcade, which also included buses carrying the farmers, but could not proceed after the local administration barricaded all roads.
The labourers, who were using heavy equipment, had no time to escape when a 50-feet-high mound of soil caved in. Villagers rushed to the spot to pull out the trapped labourers from under the debris. Revenue and police personnel also joined in the rescue operations. Eight bodies were retrieved after a three-hour operation. Five injured persons were shifted to the government hospital at Korutla. Relatives of the deceased alleged that adequate safety measures had not been taken
The thrust on agriculture, removal of Fringe Benefit Tax etc should help improve the earnings of the FMCG sector
Nitish said the centre had covered only 15 of 38 districts under the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Food for Work programme.
The government on Friday renamed its flagship rural job guarantee programme - National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) - after Mahatma Gandhi.
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.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to step up efforts to boost consumption and rural economy while keeping inflation under check when she presents her sixth straight Budget on February 1. Experts said one way to boost consumption is to put more money in the hands of people, and one of the possible ways of doing it is by reducing the tax burden through tinkering with tax slabs or increasing the standard deduction. Another proposal is related to increasing the funds under the rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA and higher payout for farmers.
Alloting more funds for MNREGA and PM-KISAN could wipe out the entire additional money that the Centre may have for FY25.
In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday underlined the need for collaboration between the Centre and states to take up the next-generation reforms covering land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship. As far as revenue share goes, the government has projected to give about 32.5 per cent of central taxes to states during FY25, against the 15th Finance Commission's recommendation of 41 per cent, according to the Union Budget estimate.
But the government will present a second tranche of Supplementary Demands for Grants during the Budget session of Parliament in February, when it can seek additional spending.
Both NDA and INDIA are racing to woo marginalised groups with Assembly polls fast approaching.
The biggest headwind to the consumption story in FY23 is a sharp decline in government subsidies on food, fertiliser and fuel, and overall decline in revenue expenditure net of interest payments. This, analysts say, will adversely impact purchasing power of households at the lower end of the income pyramid, translating into lower spending on consumer goods and services.
Around 40 per cent of the country is staring at drought-like conditions ahead of the monsoon as water levels have receded sharply.
A performance audit on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guatantee Act found that Bihar was deprived of grant of Rs 9684.24 crore (Rs 96.84 billion) during 2007-12 in the shape of central share due to less creation of mandays, sharp increase in demand for fund without sufficient justification and unspent balance grant, said the report.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's biggest challenge will be to find a new growth driver, particularly against the backdrop of a global economy ravaged by heightened uncertainty and fragmentation, financial markets on a precipice, and global commodity prices on a continued uptrend.
Every young diploma and degree holder in the country will have the right to apprenticeships in the private and government sectors, he said.
80% of beneficiaries in 300 districts to be linked with direct benefits transfer
The Centre has allocated Rs 73,000 crore for the rural jobs guarantee programme for 2022-23.
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).
We need real laws to protect whistle-blowers, and even more than that real action should be taken against perpetrators, says Sandip Sukhtankar.
There are a number of problems that plague the implementation of MGNREGA, including corruption, administrative paralysis and other hardy perennials. Massive amounts of funds on this scheme remained unspent in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
