Rural Development

Out of sync: Persistent mismatch between MGNREGA wage growth and inflation

Over the past few years, wage growth has consistently trailed both general and food inflation rates, with the exceptions of FY21 and FY24

Over 3.5 mn MGNREGS job cards deleted, 3.8 mn added in FY25: Govt

More than 35 lakh MGNREGS job cards were deleted in the current fiscal while over 38 lakh were issued, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday. Job cards cannot be deleted due to non-linkage with Aadhaar, Union Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan further said in his written response. "Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS), Aadhar Payment Bridge System is only a mode of payment and job cards cannot be deleted due to reason of non-linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts," he added. Paswan said updation and deletion of job cards was a regular exercise undertaken by states and Union territories. "In the current financial year 2024-25 (as on 16.12.2024), a total number of 35.57 lakh job cards have been deleted," he said. The cards were deleted due to being fake or incorrect, duplicate, households not willing to work, family permanently shifting from gram panchayat and "single person in job card and that per

Took several tours of Odisha to speed up development work: Prez Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday said she has broken the protocol and undertaken several tours of Odisha and her native Mayurbhanj district in order to speed up development work. Murmu, on the last day of her five-day visit to the state, was addressing a gathering here after laying the foundation for three new railway lines, besides a tribal research and development centre, Dandbose airport and sub-divisional hospital at Rairangpur. "Generally, there is no provision of visiting own state and district as the President. However, I broke the protocol and came down here frequently because of the difficulties faced by the people of this area. Keeping in view the requirements of this area, I do whatever is possible on my part," Murmu said. Murmu said she had met the incumbent Railway Minister several times when she was the governor of Jharkhand to press for the development of railways in tribal areas. "When I was the transport minister of Odisha in 2000, I had requested the incumbent

Several measures undertaken to address 'Sarpanch Pati' practice: Govt

The Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is undertaking several measures, including the use of community radio, to spread awareness against the "Sarpanch Pati" system, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The "Sarpanch Pati" system is a practice in which the husband of an elected woman sarpanch wields the actual power. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj SP Singh Baghel said various modes of information, education and communication activities, media engagement, conferences, seminars, training programmes, screening of public service awareness films, broadcasting of programmes through community radio were being done to spread awareness on issues such as the "Sarpanch Pati" system. Programmes such as "Jan Jan Tak Jankari" are being broadcast through 15 community radio stations in Bihar, Karnataka and Maharashtra on a pilot basis to create awareness about the practice of proxy-sarpanch, Baghel said. The ministry i

Haryana govt working for basic amenities in colonies under MGGBY: Minister

The Haryana government is actively working on the efforts to provide all the basic amenities in the colonies established under the Mahatma Gandhi Gramin Basti Yojana (MGGBY), Minister Krishan Lal Panwar said in the State Assembly on Tuesday. Regarding the provision of basic amenities such as electricity, water, roads, lanes, and drains in colonies established under the scheme, Panwar assured that the state government is actively working on these efforts. Development and Panchayat Minister Panwar said under this scheme, approximately 4,573 colonies have been established, with basic facilities provided in around 2,250 colonies where settlements have begun. In the past 10 years, a budget of about Rs 320.5 crore has been allocated for this initiative. This includes Rs 94.5 crore for the Electricity Department and Rs 66 crore for the Public Health Engineering Department to ensure the provision of essential services, he said. While responding to a calling attention notice of INLD member

Work demand under MGNREGS falls for 12th consecutive month in October

For the 12th consecutive month, work demand under the MGNREGS fell in October, reflecting a shift in the rural economy toward more lucrative job opportunities

Rural safety net: Dependence on MGNREGS needs to be permanently reduced

The scheme undoubtedly remains a robust welfare tool to support incomes and livelihood in rural areas. However, it should be the last option for people seeking employment

How land policy shapes economic outcomes in China, US, UK, and India

How to improve land and capture its value is central to growth and development policy even in the 21st century

Demand for work under MGNREGS drops for 10th consecutive month in August

Nearly 19 million individuals requested work under MGNREGS, showing a 17 per cent decrease compared to the same period last year

SC to hear Punjab's plea for release of rural development funds on Sept 2

The Supreme Court on Friday said it will hear on September 2 an interim plea of the AAP-led Punjab government seeking release of over Rs 1,000 crore urgently from the Centre on account of alleged dues pertaining to the Rural Development Fund. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was told by lawyer Shadan Farasat, appearing for the state government, that the apex court website does not show the matter listed in the list of business of September 2. The lawyer said he was assured that the matter will be listed on that day. We will see, the CJI said, adding the matter will be taken up. The state government has filed an interlocutory application (IA), in a pending lawsuit against the Centre, and has sought urgent release of over Rs 1,000 crore as an interim measure. The Bhagwant Mann government, in 2023, had moved the top court alleging non-release of the Rural Development Fund (RDF) and withholding a portion of the market fee by t

MGNREGA demand dips 19% as agriculture activities pick up pace

July and August are usually considered lean months for the scheme in terms of demand for work as agricultural activities are in full swing in the rural parts of the country

Rising focus: Budget push likely for social sector to lift rural demand

Bumper RBI dividend may help govt increase funding

Priority sector tag needed for women-led rural enterprises: World Bank

Recommends institutional reforms to support growth and contribution of women's entrepreneurship

Another bridge collapses in Bihar, none hurt; 2nd such incident in a week

A small bridge collapsed in Siwan district on Saturday in the second incident of its kind in Bihar in less than a week, officials said. The bridge was erected over a canal, connecting the villages of Daraunda and Maharajganj blocks, and it caved in at around 5 am, said District Magistrate Mukul Kumar Gupta. "Nobody was injured in the incident. It was a very old structure and apparently, pillars caved in when water was released through the canal. We are trying to ensure that until it is restored, residents of affected villages face as little inconvenience as possible," the DM told PTI. Daraunda BDO Surya Pratap Singh said, "Locals claim the bridge was built way back in 1991 with contributions from the then Maharajganj MLA Uma Shankar Singh". Anil Kumar, the Sub Divisional Magistrate of Maharajganj, confirmed that the "the 20 feet long brick structure" had been built through MLA's local area development fund and added, "based on the investigation report further action will be ...

Rural demand picking up, likely to hold this year: RBI Governor Das

RBI guv says premature to change stance, FY24 CAD may be less than 1%

India lives in its villages, rural development priority: Shivraj Chouhan

India lives in its villages and rural development remains a priority for the Narendra Modi led government, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Tuesday as he took charge of the Rural Development ministry. The 'Lakhpati Didi' scheme aimed at enabling women to earn Rs 1 lakh per annum is among the key focuses of the government, Chouhan, who has been chief minister of Madhya Pradesh for four terms, said. "The prime minister has another dream we want to fulfil, that is the dream to have 'Lakhpati Didis'... women empowerment is a mission of our government," the veteran BJP leader said. "Many programmes are being implemented and work is being done through self help groups. There are one crore 'Lakhpati Didis'... we have to take this number to three crore," he said. Referring to the Union cabinet's decision to construct three crore more houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, he told reporters, "India lives in its villages. Rural development is a priority of our prime minister. Many program

Shivraj Singh Chouhan makes national debut as agriculture minister

In a significant political move, senior BJP leader and four-time former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan has made his national debut as the Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new Cabinet. The 65-year-old leader, popularly known as "mama" (maternal uncle) and "paon-paon wale bhaiya" (foot soldier), took oath as part of the Prime Minister's Council of Ministers on Sunday, marking a significant milestone in his over three-decade-long political career. With his extensive experience in governance and deep connect with the rural populace, Chouhan's appointment as the Union Agriculture Minister is expected to bring fresh impetus to the government's efforts in addressing the challenges faced by the agriculture sector and the farming community. Chouhan, who assiduously cultivated a 'son of the soil' image and identified himself with the socio-economic concerns of farmers, villagers, women, and children in Madhya Pradesh, .

Record-breaking election spending to ignite rural demand: Experts

Even as the 2024 Lok Sabha polls have started to unfold, anticipation remained high not only in the political landscape but also about the ripple effects on the economy, particularly in rural India, as experts described the elections as the most expensive one ever fought in the country's history. With an expenditure of a staggering Rs 1.35 lakh crore estimated by N Bhaskara Rao, who chairs the Centre for Media Studies and has been tracking election spending for 35 years, significant parts of the amount spent during the polls will reach the pockets of India's rural population boosting sales, business houses feel. According to a study, about 35 per cent of election expenditure in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in India was made on campaigns and publicity. The second highest expenditure head was payments to voters via various means hiring workers, purchasing campaign materials, freebies and direct cash transfers in some cases. Industry leaders expect these will have a positive impact on

Centre notifies 3-10% hike in MGNREGA wage rates for FY25 ahead of polls

Wage rates in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are set to experience the lowest increase at 3% for FY25 compared to FY24, while Goa will see the highest increase at 10.6%

Land record digitisation will improve GDP: Rural development minister

Digitisation of land records and registration is expected to improve the GDP of the country by about 1.5 per cent, Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh said on Thursday. He made the remarks at the inauguration of the two-day Bhumi Samvaad on 'Sharing of Best Practices in Land Management Modernization'. Addressing officers from across the country at the conference, Singh emphasized that saturation of the digitisation process of land records and registration will help mitigate the huge pendency of court cases involving land disputes. It will also help in improving the ranking of the country in terms of ease of doing business", he said. "Digitisation of land records and registration is expected to improve the GDP of the country by about 1.5 per cent," he said. Stressing on the importance of emerging technologies such as blockchain and CORS in the modernisation process of land management, he said this will go a long way in achieving the objectives of the government under ...