Drought hit Bihar plans to increase the number of days of work from 100 to 150 under the rural job scheme to check migration of the poorest of poor in search of livelihood by providing employment opportunity locally.
Refraining from tinkering with tax and duty rates in the interim Budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday made a huge allocation of Rs 30,100 crore (Rs 301 billion) to government's flagship rural employment programme and many other schemes in a bid to counter the economic recession.
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.
India must be prepared to deal with climate disasters, geopolitical confrontations, and social strife linked to global events, asserts Jayant Sinha, chairman of Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance.
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.
'I remain optimistic that 2021 will be better than 2020 because we have visibility of vaccinations this year.'
A quarterly index on jobs created is vital for policy action.
important financial and economic bills, including the Chartered Accountants (Amendment) Bill, 2003, the Cost and Works Accountants (Amendment) Bill, 2003 and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill did not come up.
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 situation could become more acute as millions of migrants who had returned to their villages during the lockdown come back to the towns for higher wages and better livelihoods.
"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.
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.
The thrust on agriculture, removal of Fringe Benefit Tax etc should help improve the earnings of the FMCG sector
In conversation with Jayamala, the first woman president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.
At present, 100 days of work is provided to rural job card holders under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
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.
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
Higher inflation might just be the necessary cost that we need to bear in making a transition to a higher growth trajectory.
The finance ministry has appointed a Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, which will soon roll out a National Pension Scheme for the informal sector or for whoever wants to join.
There will be a lot to repair and rejuvenate -- if that opportunity even presents itself, warns Rathin Roy.
Claims of a spike in poverty and inequality in India during the Covid-19 pandemic are patently false as such claims are based on uncomparable different surveys, according to a paper co-authored by eminent economist Arvind Panagariya. The paper also noted that inequality fell in the country during Covid years, both in rural and urban areas as well as nationally. Panagariya, Columbia University Professor and former vice chairman of NITI Aayog and Vishal More of Intelink Advisors, New Delhi have co-authored a detailed paper 'Poverty and Inequality in India: Before and After Covid-19'.
The Nanavati Commission and the IMDT Act were discussed.
Govt, Left sort out differences over employment scheme
Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Thursday said the economy is expected to grow at 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal notwithstanding deficient rains in August. India recorded economic growth of 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2023-24 against 13.1 per cent in the year-ago period. India's economy in Q1 grew at the fastest pace in a year, on the shoulders of a boost in capital expenditure both at central and state levels, along with stronger consumption demand, especially in rural areas, and improved performance in the services sector, he said.
India's unemployment rose to a three-month high in March to 7.8 per cent as the country's labour markets deteriorated, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Unemployment rate in the country surged in December 2022 to 8.30 per cent but declined in January to 7.14 per cent. It edged up again in February to 7.45 per cent, the CMIE data released on Saturday showed. During March, the unemployment rate in urban areas was at 8.4 per cent while in the rural areas it was at 7.5 per cent.
The main difference between China and us is that its government works. Ours is happy to doze.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a pitch for electing a strong and stable government in an uncertain world beset by geopolitical tensions as the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday released its manifesto, prioritising development and welfare while shunning populist measures and contentious issues like the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Measures that quickly boost demand and increase employment are needed to push up growth. Moreover, without announcing new planss, the government should strengthen schemes such as PM KISAN, MNREGA and programmes to build rural roads.
Union minister of state for commerce, Jairam Ramesh, said there was no proposal to fix the national minimum wage rate at Rs 60 per day under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
'Neither did I approach the BJP nor did they ask me to join them. It was a natural choice for both of us to make.' 'It was never for me to ask or for them to give.'
The 19th Congress of the CPI-M in Coimbatore on Wednesday discussed the uneven growth of the party in the country. It demanded scrapping the Article 355, 356.
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.
This will cost the government Rs 3.1 trillion, about 10 per cent of its annual expenditure, and higher than any other spending item in its Budget.
Unemployment rate in the country has zoomed to a high of 8.3 per cent in December, the highest in 2022, according to data from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The unemployment rate during November was at 8 per cent, while in September it was the lowest at 6.43 per cent and was at the second highest level during the year at 8.28 per cent in August, the CMIE data stated. While the urban unemployment rate was at 10 per cent during the last month of 2022, rural joblessness stood at 7.5 per cent during December.
The delegation also interacted with the workers and told them not to believe in rumours and fake videos.
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