Move comes almost a year after Centre made digital capturing of attendance under MGNREGS universal. Aim is to weed out ghost beneficiaries and reduce financial irregularities.
Over 170 districts in India don't have an ombudsperson, a mandatory requirement under the job guarantee scheme. In some states, 1 ombudsperson allotted for 2 districts, it is learnt.
The launch of Bharat Dal and Bharat Atta shows that the government is worried about the distress people are facing. It has no choice but to take action.
'Unnati' initiative was launched in December 2019 with aim to train 2 lakh workers registered under MGNREGS by March 2022. Earlier this year, the deadline was extended to March 2025.
LibTech India analysed MGNREGS data for first 6 months of this fiscal & found net deletion of 80 lakh workers' names. Deletions highest in UP, while poll-bound Telangana saw increase.
Activists representing workers' groups, who opposed slashing of MGNREGS budget, allege govt trying to phase out programme that guarantees minimum 100 days of paid work to rural families.
Rural Development ministry decided against extending deadline for 3rd time. With 19% workers still to be linked, activists fear the move may result in deletion of job cards.
West Bengal (83.36 lakh) saw the highest number of name deletions under MGNREGS in 2022-23, followed by Andhra (78.05 lakh), Odisha (77.78 lakh), Bihar (76.68 lakh) and UP (62.98 lakh).
Currently, all information regarding projects is manually maintained by engineers. Rural development ministry has held talks with private firms, IITs, IIITs, it is learnt.
From a record-breaking number of households demanding work under the MGNREGS to the stark decline in consumption and FMCG sales — all signs point to a rural livelihood crisis.
We have failed terribly at two important things. One, we are reacting to this issue only emotionally, not logically. And two, we are not asking the right questions.
WhatsApp privacy policy case is among a string of matters involving practices like restrictive platform rules, pricing & billing policies, reflecting India’s tight scrutiny of market dominance.
Bihar is blessed with a land more fertile for revolutions than any in India. Why has it fallen so far behind then? Constant obsession with politics is at the root of its destruction.
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