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Tuesday, March 31, 2026
TopicRural Development Ministry

Topic: Rural Development Ministry

After MPs’ muted response to Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, Centre sanctions survey before phase 2

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, one of PM’s pet projects, was launched in 2014. Only 54% of nearly 6,300 gram panchayats have been adopted by MPs. Slow pace a cause for concern, say officials.

Digitisation of urban land records to be rolled out soon, 1st phase to cover over 100 cities

Cities with population of less than 2 lakh to be taken up under project likely to be rolled out this week. A centralised portal is on anvil for states to upload land records data.

States & UTs closed just 3.7% of 9+ lakh MGNREGS-related issues raised by social auditors in 2023-24

Rural ministry data shows auditors surveyed 73.04% of 2.69 lakh gram panchayats, flagging issues like funds misappropriation, violations in scheme implementation & workers' grievances.

Women’s participation in MGNREGS hits 10-yr high at 58.8%. Meghalaya, UP see biggest spikes

Gradual increase in number of women seeking work under scheme attributed to involvement of women SHGs, horticulture related jobs, and 'women mates' who supervise MGNREGS works.

88% of sanctioned PMAY-G houses ready so far, several states & UTs yet to achieve half of target

With scheme ending on 31 March, states and UTs have been asked to expedite work. Laggards include Andhra Pradesh and some northeastern states.

Don’t make Aadhaar-based payments mandatory for NREGA till mechanism is foolproof: House panel

The system, first introduced in 2017, was finally made mandatory in January. But a panel report tabled Thursday, says all ‘major bottlenecks’ should be resolved first.

With Rs 86,000-cr for FY25, MNREGS budget sees no change from 2023-24 revised estimate as polls loom

FY25 allocation is exactly the same outlay as given in revised estimates for the current financial year. Activists say it's not sufficient to meet demand for work in rural areas.

Parliamentary panel flags poor quality of rural roads built under PMGSY, asks govt to ‘tighten grip’

In Action Taken Report (ATR) tabled in Parliament, the panel did not accept the rural development ministry’s explanation regarding the quality check mechanism put in place.  

UP, MP to Assam, several districts have no MGNREGS ombudsperson to address workers’ grievances

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.

MGNREGS skilling project a non-starter 4 yrs on with only 22% workers trained. Centre blames states

'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.

On Camera

How West Asia crisis can play out for PM Modi and BJP in Assembly polls

While the Russia-Ukraine war saw the BJP projecting PM Modi as a ‘vishwaguru’ who could end international conflicts, the party has made a nuanced shift in its electoral strategy vis-à-vis the West Asia war.

Foreign investors dump record $12 bn India stocks in March on war

Soaring energy costs have hurt oil-importing Asian peers, but the scale of outflows from India points to already bearish global sentiment.

India developing lethal autonomous weapon systems, database of citizens’ crime risk—House Panel report

Report on impact of AI emergence—drawing upon depositions from several ministries—confirms that the developments come in the absence of AI laws or considerations over them.

Gulf war exposed India’s fragilities. It’s time for navel-gazing, in the national interest

It’s easy to understand why the government can’t speak the hard truth. When this war ends, as all wars do, India’s interests will lie with both the winner and the loser.