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.
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).
The government will on Tuesday introduce the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015 in the Parliament to replace the Land Acquisition Ordinance.
Expressing concern over rising prices, the Congress party on Monday asked the government to deal with the issue of inflation with candour and courage and take stern action against hoarding and black-marketing.
Government on Tuesday indicated its willingness to incorporate more changes into the land bill in order to address the concerns raised by opposition parties even as it has already agreed to make at least six amendments in its proposal.
The project would ensure basic minimum facilities for villages like water and sanitation, power, schools and markets.
Describing himself as a 'ruffian', Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said that one needs to be 'tough' to achieve something in politics. Do you agree?
However, the country is facing a tremendous challenge in sustaining drinking water security in rural areas.
Watched by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi who is in the forefront to ensure that United Progressive Alliance's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is a success, Rural Development Minister C P Joshi said, "Everywhere, including in Parliament, there are doubts in everybody's mind that the way in which NREGA should function, is not happening."
The Centre has expressed displeasure over improper implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in some states, pointing to inadequacies like failure to put in place monitoring, auditing and accountability mechanisms.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Mohammed Salim were among the prominent politicians who tested positive for COVID-19 as a rapid spike in cases took the tally in the country to over 18 lakh on Monday.
'I have been dropped all of a sudden and I don't even know what my fault is,' says Shobha Karandlaje, who was dropped from the Karnataka cabinet following the battle between Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and the Reddy brothers from Bellary.
Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty chief executive officer T Vijaya Kumar and Infosys BPO Limited CEO and managing director Amitabh Chaudhry signed the MoU in the presence of chief minister K Rosaiah, state rural development minister Vatti Vasantha Kumar and other senior officials in Hyderabad.
It can possibly happen only in Bihar. The names of rich including chartered accountant, government employees, shopkeeper of Public Distribution System and even dead have been allotted job cards and they have drawn money as wages under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in the state.
The 94 constituencies which are going to poll on November 3 are in 17 districts: West Champaran, East Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Nalanda and Patna.
"It is not true that there is 30-40 per cent siphoning," rural development minister C P Joshi told the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.
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.
Lalit Modi's attempt to regain control of the Rajasthan Cricket Association failed for the second time in six months after the BCCI strongman lost an acrimonious election for the president's post to Union Minister CP Joshi in Jaipur on Monday.
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.
Yeddyurappa will have to take one of the hardest decisions of his political career when he drops Shobha from the ministry in order to save his chair.
C P Joshi, India's Rural Development Minister, on Tuesday claimed that a Bill to provide for acquisition of land for industrial projects and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) has been cleared by the Cabinet and the timing of its introduction in Parliament will be decided by the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry.
The government on Friday admitted certain flaws in its flagship rural employment programme like irregularities in payment of wages and said steps were being taken to set them right.
The proposal aimed to provide pension for life to widows and persons with severe and multiple disabilities belonging to families below the poverty line, irrespective of age. Expenditure Secretary Sushma Nath argued that if there was no age cap, it would become "open ended" and "send the wrong message" to society. The Cabinet conceded Nath had a point and adopted the revised plan, which includes an age limit.
Could Jairam Ramesh's frank comments work to the BJP's advantage?
The UPA government's flagship programme under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act that proved to be a vote churner for the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections is being expanded to cover the rural artisans like masons and carpenters. So far only manual work was available to those seeking employment under the Act.
The GoM recommended that activities of all religious organisations should not be allowed till May 15 as a precautionary measure to check spread of coronavirus infection, the sources added.
There has been a lot of promise from New Delhi to build toilets for women Back in rural Maharashtra, Sangita Awhale has taken the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative forward.
Union Minister Gopinath Munde died due to "shock and haemorrhage" following injuries to his neck and liver, as per the preliminary autopsy report submitted to Delhi Police by AIIMS doctors.
According to sources, the GoM has accepted the rural development ministry's demand to stick to the 70:30 formula for land acquisition for industry, after rejecting suggestions of a parliamentary panel, Left parties and some state governments. This means that a state can acquire only up to 30 per cent of the total land required for a project with the remaining being acquired by the private party concerned.
Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said the government has written letters to heads of IITs and IIMs and vice chancellors of universities seeking their cooperation and involvement in the scheme. He said the government has asked officials of these reputed institutes to visit villages for conducting technical and impact assessment studies besides lending their help in implementing the programme.
"The prime minister asked the ministers to stay alert on the global financial situation," Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
Kumar had made comments against the Prem Kumar Dhumal government in Himachal Pradesh before the election.
The probe panel, constituted by Bihar's National Democratic Alliance government, on Tuesday confirmed that Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh's kin had engaged two child labourers for tilling an agricultural land at Shahpur village in Vaishali district on December 9. The finding dealt a severe blow to Singh's assertion that some TV channels had stage-managed the story.
Senior NCP leader R R Patil or 'Aaba', was a quintessential grass root politician
"We will not make payment if the beneficiary does not have a bank account. We have opened 1.45 crore accounts so far. We will cover 3.37 crore beneficiaries very soon," Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told PTI on Monday. The minister, who was speaking after inaugurating the National Consultation on NREGA, said the move would help check any irregularity in implementation of the programme.
Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh was forced by an agitated Opposition and Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to withdraw his un-parliamentary remarks against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Chinna Reddy had accused Janardhan Reddy of damaging his reputation during a general body meeting of the Mahbubnagar zilla parishad on February 17, 2002. Janardhan Reddy was a minister in the TDP government at that time while Chinna Reddy was an MLA from the Congress.
A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to Gurvinder Singh who was arrested in connection with the accident which led to the death of Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde.
The rural development ministry has come in direct conflict with the communications ministry, which has refused to accept its request for disbursing wages under the rural job scheme through post offices without charging any fee.
The much-awaited policy for mandatory rehabilitation of land owners displaced by industrial projects and SEZs might get delayed with the matter being referred to a Group of Ministers.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances