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Workshop: Towards green villages |
| Inside | |
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Policy Watch: IFS officers take over IAS roles
In Focus: Will food coupons solve problems related to PDS?
NREGA Updates: PM takes exception to road construction under NREGA
Specials: CSE coverage of NREGA
Resources: Participatory Action Learning System
Down To Earth: Read latest stories on poverty and environment
| Leader | |
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Employment for all by 2010?The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council has projected full employment for India by 2010. However, the forecast comes with a disclaimer. Work for all would not necessarily imply quality employment. The Economic Outlook for 2007-2008 reports the bulk of increase in employment has happened in agriculture and in the informal sector where both wage rates and income growth are lower than most sectors of the economy.
| Policy Watch | |
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World Bank’s effort to change ICDS fails
The World Bank’s efforts to engineer policy changes in the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) have failed due to stiff resistance from the ministries of women and child development, rural development, and human resource development.
Market research agency to investigate panchayats
The Union ministry of panchayati raj has commissioned the AC Nielsen group to conduct a study to determine the truth behind allegations that spouses and other male family members are running panchayats on behalf of elected women representatives.
IFS officers take over IAS roles
Citing shortage of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in the state, the Chhattisgarh government has put Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers in charge of various administrative matters.
India could lose 18 per cent rainfed cereal production
According to the UN, India could lose 125 million tonnes of cereals -- equivalent to 18 per cent of its rain fed cereal production -- as a result of climate changes due to global warming.
Planning Commission doubts malnutrition figure
The Planning Commission has questioned the data generated by the Union ministry of women and child development on the number of children suffering from malnutrition in India.
Smart money for India’s rural poor
The Union ministry of finance and the Planning Commission are looking at ways of using electronic smart cards to transform the distribution of relatively small amounts of government money to India’s 220 million people who live below the poverty line, and maybe to 200-300 million more who are marginally better off.
President targets agricultural advances in rainfed areas
President Pratibha Patil has called for emphasis on micro and ground-based issues in agricultural advances, such as soil health as well as the larger advantages of using advances in space technology.
Orissa districts under moisture stress
Concerned over the moisture stress situation in 11 districts (of the state’s 30) due to low rainfall, the Orissa government has directed district collectors to energise lift irrigation points and closely monitor the condition of crops.
Rajasthan gets central grants for rural drinking water supply
The Union ministry of rural development has sanctioned Rs 61.90 crore to the Rajasthan government towards provisional allocation of Rs 185.70 crore made under the centrally-sponsored Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme-Drought Development Programme.
TN to expedite construction of houses in tsunami affected areas
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has instructed officials to expedite the construction of 20,000 houses in tsunami-affected areas of the state.
NABARD to float micro finance institution
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will soon start a micro-finance institution in order to take financing to the ‘poorest of the poor’.
NABARD-funded roads benchmark of quality
Roads constructed in Tamil Nadu villages with money sanctioned from National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Rural Infrastructure Development Fund have become a benchmark of quality.
Karnataka receives rehabilitation package for irrigation schemes
The Centre has given a green signal for the utilisation of Rs 2,690 crore released under the rehabilitation package approved for six suicide-prone districts of Karnataka.
| In Focus | |
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Will food coupons solve problems related to PDS?In view of the failure of the Targeted Public Distribution System, the government plans to introduce food coupons for people living below the poverty line. This might undermine the food security of the poor, and will have serious repercussions in terms of their nutritional requirements.
Trend analysis of NSSO survey on PDSEven a ‘targeted’ Public Distribution System (PDS) falls short of the needs of its intended beneficiaries. Though PDS appears to have covered ground, questions on its effectiveness as a system remain. The ‘National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) 61st round report on the Public Distribution System and other sources of household consumption, 2004-05’ analyses data from around 80,000 rural households and arrives at some interesting trends.
Lessons to be learnt from government food assistance schemesThe 61st round of the NSSO highlights certain interesting facets of government run food assistance schemes. In conjunction with the Public Distribution System, these schemes have had a limited impact. This should serve as a lesson for the future.
Download study
| NREGA Update |
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PM takes exception to road construction under NREGA Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has criticised the Karnataka government for taking up road construction work under NREGA.
SHGs to disburse payment under NREGAAmid reports of delayed wage payment under NREGA, Andhra Pradesh has roped in self-help groups (SHGs) to partially take over disbursement of wages.
Ministry asks MPs to fine-tune NREGAUnion minister for rural development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh will consult MPs during the monsoon session of Parliament to get ideas and feedback for making NREGA result-oriented.
MoRD asks states to wind up SGRYThe Union ministry of rural development (MoRD) has asked states to wind up the Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) in districts where NREGA is currently being implemented. Works undertaken under SGRY will henceforth be merged with NREGA.
CAG measuring impacts of NREGA The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is conducting an evaluation of NREGA performance.
| Special: CSE coverage of NREGA | |
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Panchayati raj: Half a cheer for democracy There is a great push to make panchayats the fulcrum of rural development in India. But 16 years after this third tier of governance was created, it has not got its due. The future of rural development will depend on how state governments devolve real power to panchayats.
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme does not work as envisagedCivil society groups Asha Parivar and National Alliance of People’s Movements conducted a social audit of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act schemes in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi district in December 2006. The NGOs later brought out a factsheet, which listed a number of irregularities. Further explorations by Down To Earth confirmed the findings of the audit.
Bundelkhand in grip of severe drought Bundelkhand has been reeling under intense drought for the last five years. The current spell is the longest and most severe in the region's history. A plummeting water table, crop failure and the resultant indebtedness have already driven hundreds of farmers to suicide. And life is tough for those who survive.
Employment guarantee scheme not in sync with Mastapur's needs Residents of Mastapur village in Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh district thought of NREGA as a means of renovating their local tank to tide over a four-year-long drought. For, under NREGA, water conservation gets top priority. But hopes disappeared soon: instead, the village got a kachcha road, which is hardly commutable.
Rajasthan tackles drought through pokhars Rajasthan’s Karauli district has been reeling under drought for the last four years. To tackle this, people are reviving pokhars -- 200-year-old traditional water harvesting systems. Villagers are also talking about using NREGA for large-scale revival of pokhars in the district.
How NREGA helped Panihari village Residents of Panihari village in Haryana’s Sirsa district are celebrating the increase in agricultural wages courtesy NREGA. Through the scheme, they have also managed to get a 2 km embankment on the Ghaggar river.
Wages of division NREGA was passed last year to strengthen the livelihood resource base of the rural poor, and enhance their social security. But within the country -- particularly in the districts targeted by this act -- there exists a vast difference in how communities perceive livelihood and social security.
| Resources | |
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An Ecological Act: A backgrounder to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)The paper makes a case for using NREGA as an effective development tool. It also lists development opportunities offered by NREGA, and the challenges that it faces.
Ranking of 447 backward districts of IndiaA study has calculated the index of backwardness of 447 districts of the country on the basis of three parameters. Find out how your district has fared.
Participatory Action Learning System Participatory Action Learning System (PALS) is a methodology, which brings together action learning processes by the use of simple diagram tools for a range of different issues and purposes: training/participatory learning, decision-making and planning, monitoring and evaluation, and advocacy and lobbying.
Mapping of coastal water bodies in NagapattinamThe study relates to the mapping of coastal water bodies in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district, use of flood/rain water for agriculture and drinking water supply, and recharging of ground water.
Download study
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Sikkim tribesfolk oppose proposed hydel projectsProtests against the construction of a series of dams on the Teesta river, which runs through the length of Sikkim, have gained momentum in the last couple of months.
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Punjab’s depleting groundwater stagnates agricultural growth Of late, Punjab’s groundwater levels have been falling at an alarming rate. The reasons for this are many: early sowing of rice, rotational cropping of wheat and rice (both water intensive crops), and lack of support prices for other crops.
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Sulphur deficiency in Madhya Pradesh soil leads to poor harvestFarmers in Madhya Pradesh have been grappling with a poor harvest this season. According to experts, the low output has been triggered by sulphur deficiency in the soil.
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Orissa farmers fight government to regain cashew rights Malikput and 21 other villages under the Machkund tehsil comprise the largest cashew-growing belt in Koraput, Orissa. In recent times there have been constant conflicts between villagers who say that the cashew growing land belongs to them, and the state body -- Orissa State Cashew Development Corporation -- which calls the villagers ‘encroachers’.
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Rajasthan mine workers form cooperativesMine workers in different parts of Rajasthan have got together to form cooperatives, which sell kerosene, sugar, rice, wheat and corn.
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The newsletter regularly updates on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and its development effectiveness. E-pov News intends to be a platform for serious dialogue. We invite you to actively participate in this initiative by alerting us to new developments and research on the poverty-environment interface and on NREGA.
For comments, email: e-pov@cseindia.org
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