Agriculture, falling from grace?
As the dust settles over the Union budget (2007-8), one thing has become clear: the Indian economy is making a structural shift from agriculture to the services and manufacturing sectors. Both the prime minister and the finance minister have categorically said that for the economy to grow faster, the focus must shift from agriculture. In this regard, the government has already changed gears at the policy level.
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Bihar’s TPDS coupon scheme runs into problems
The Bihar government’s coupon scheme for the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) to check malpractices and black marketing is facing rough weather. Political parties have alleged that the new BPL list, prepared to aid the scheme, is inaccurate and has left out many genuinely poor families.
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WHO survey: Rising cost of healthcare pushing people below poverty line in India
A World Health Organization (WHO) survey has found that many Indian families are being pushed below the poverty line by the rising cost of healthcare. More than 40 per cent of low-income families in the country have to borrow money from outside the family to meet their healthcare costs, says the study.
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Planning Commission disbelieves statistics on agriculture
The Planning Commission is sceptical about the rosy picture presented by the Central Statistical Organisation about the 6 per cent growth in the agriculture sector. The commission feels that the projection does not represent either agricultural distress or the key problem areas.
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Bengal government orders land-mapping
The West Bengal government has appointed global consultant Mott MacDonald to determine the distribution of land in the state. Land mapping will be carried out in two phases. Data from this study will help the state government establish an information system on the land based on plot-by-plot verification of land tenure, land use and crop.
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MoRD asks states to submit reports on 20-points programme
Union minister for rural development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has asked states to submit timely and correct reports on the 14 programmes identified under the restructured 20-point programme. In a recent review meeting, Singh also asked the states to ensure strict monitoring of programmes under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
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Preparation of devolution index delayed
The National Council for Applied Economic Research, which prepared the devolution index for the Union ministry of panchayati raj, has been asked to redraft the index. The index is a first attempt to quantify the environment for effective decentralisation of governance in rural India.
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Committee for implementation of forest rights bill
The Union ministry of tribal affairs has set up a committee to frame rules for the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The 19-member committee has been asked to submit its draft report within three months.
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Parliamentary standing committee to report on SEZ land use
The parliamentary standing committee on commerce is finalising a report on the type of land being used by developers to set up special economic zones (SEZs). The committee is likely to present a report to the Parliament on the level of compliance of approved SEZs vis-à-vis provisions restricting use of double-crop land to 10 per cent of the total acquired area.
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Orissa government brings NGOs under RTI
The Orissa government has brought non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in the state under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. This has been done to make their operations transparent and accountable. The state government has already framed RTI rules prescribing certain procedures, forms and fees for the purpose.
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Nicobarese tribals demand settlers leave the islands
Nicobarese tribals have formed an alliance -- Federation of Tribal Councils of Nicobar -- and have formally demanded that thousands of illegal settlers from the mainland leave the islands. A declaration said that by coming together, the Nicobarese will have a single platform to interact with the outside world, including the Centre, the local administration and civil society organisations.
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Model coconut farms in Kerala panchayats
The Kerala government has decided to set up model coconut farms in panchayats. Each farm will have a group of 50 farmers. An agriculture officer will be entrusted with the responsibility of running the farm.
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FCI to issue bonds worth Rs 6,200 crore
In a bid to reduce the growing food subsidy bill, the food grain procurement organisation, Food Corporation of India (FCI), is likely to come out with special bonds worth Rs 6,200 crore. These will be guaranteed by the central government and will fetch an interest of 8.23 per cent per annum.
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PM appointed committee finds rural indebtedness acute
A committee appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into the issue of farmer indebtedness has found that schedule caste farmers are the worst affected. According to the preliminary reports of the committee, as many as 80 per cent of indebted households in Punjab belong to schedule castes and are small, marginal farmers.
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PM launches BRGF
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently launched the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) in Barpeta, Assam. BRGF aims at bridging regional disparities and will be implemented across 250 districts in the country.
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Government bans future trading in wheat and rice
In a bid to control rising prices of essential commodities, the government has banned futures trade in wheat and rice. Finance minister P Chidambaram announced this during the Union budget (2007-8). The ban comes almost a year after concerns were expressed at the chief ministers’ conference, and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution called for putting an end to trade in essential commodities.
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Rainfed areas of India: Feeding more, fed less
With more than 60 per cent of the country’s cultivable areas dependent on rain for agriculture, Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s allocation of Rs100 crore for the rainfed area development programme is grossly insufficient. Some time back, the first meeting of the recently set up National Rainfed Authority of India ended with the Union rural development and agriculture ministries fighting over fund allocation for the programme.

Experts say that the government needs to spend more for raising productivity of rainfed areas for meeting the goal of national food security over the next decades. This is necessary because production from irrigated areas has plateaued.
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NREGA fails to guarantee
The guarantee factor seems to have been diluted in the implementation of NREGA. At an average, the Act has provided 37.50 man days of work to a job-seeking household against the legal promise of 100 man days annually, according to a government assessment.
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Administrative cost for NREGA hiked
The Union cabinet has approved enhancement of the administrative or management cost for the implementation of NREGA from the present level of 2 per cent to 4 per cent of the total cost.
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Gujarat spends 14 times more on NREGA administration
The first public social audit of NREGA implementation held recently in Dahod and Panchmahals districts of Gujarat found that contrary to the official limit of 2 per cent expenditure on administration, the state is spending 28 per cent of the grants funds on administrative costs.
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Tribal residents get unemployment allowance
Around 1,574 tribal residents from Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani district have received unemployment allowance worth Rs 4.75 lakh under NREGA.
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Training: Towards green villages
Why do some villages remain poor despite implementation of development programmes? Why are certain villages prosperous? Why is the rapid growth of the Indian economy not benefiting villages? Why is the gross national product (GNP) not an indicator of real wealth? Why will the conventional development model not make villages poverty-free?

The Centre for Science and Environment announces a five-day refresher workshop on how to use the environment for eradicating poverty in rural areas. Conducted by the Anil Agrawal Green College, the workshop will answer the above questions and will discuss how villages can be made sustainable. The training will involve classroom debates and field trips.

For more details log on

Budget analysis
The Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, a Delhi-based advocacy group, has been analysing the Union budget since the last few years. The analysis is done taking into account macro-economic policies and from the perspective of the disadvantageous sections of society.

For the analysis of the latest budget click here

BRGF Guidelines
The Union ministry of panchayati raj has released the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) guidelines.

For details click here

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