MGNREGS: ‘Monument of failure’ or ‘saviour’?

On the 10th anniversary of the rural job guarantee scheme, Down To Earth evaluates its successes and drawbacks

Union Budget 2020-21: An expert’s guide to rural distress

Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget has all the ingredients to deepen India’s farm crisis

MGNREGS falls short of funds again despite increased allocation in rural sector

Pending liabilities in the scheme means that workers’ wages are unpaid

Supreme Court issues directive for implementing MGNREGA, food security Act to tackle drought

In a bid to provide relief to households in drought-hit areas, the apex court directed the Centre to release funds to states for providing …

Political parties choose farm loan waiver for electoral gains, but at what cost?

Farmers have outstanding loan of Rs12.60 lakh crore, which translates to Rs 100,000 per cultivator

MGNREGA causing labour crisis: RBI

Rural households in six states said they prefer working under MGNREGA rather than traditional labour, leading to an agricultural labour crisis

MSP on crops has major impact on inflation: RBI

After government said that it will provide 1.5 times the MSP on cost of production of crops in the 2018-19 Union budget, RBI re-assessed the …

Congress promises Rs 72,000 per year minimum income for poor

Calling it the Nyaya scheme, Rahul Gandhi said it will be an extension of UPA government’s flagship MGNREGS

Budget 2017-18 expectations: ensure food security, minimise rural distress

This year’s budget must focus on preventing farmer suicides, strengthening crop insurance scheme and guaranteeing rural employment

Irrigation sector gets boost in Union Budget

Apart from generous budgetary allocation, the government will utilise MGNREGS to increase the water harvesting potential of drought-affected …

Rivulet resurrected in 45 days

Thousands of people working under NREGS bring a 38 km stream back from the dead in Uttar Pradesh

Mr Prime Minister good news

The finance minister has said that the government is committed to double farmers' income in five years. Here are a few villages across the …

Civil society seconds rural development ministry’s demand for MGNREGA funds

The rural development ministry had recently demanded an additional allocation of Rs 5,000 crore to maintain the momentum of MGNREGA

Scheme against jobs

Government is bent upon shrinking jobs for the poor by fundamentally changing the rural employment guarantee scheme against the advice of its …

Project without a plan

After two budgets and Rs 5,300 crore in funding, the Centre's micro irrigation project that promises water to every farmland is not even close to …

Into the abyss?

The situation of India's farmers has only become grimmer in the past decade, according to the latest National Sample Survey Office report

UPA announces poll sop for tribals

Centre promises 150 days of work to tribal households under MGNREGA

Last ditch attempt

UPA gives sops under MGNREGS to attract rural voters ahead of elections

Cash transfers do not benefit

Jitendra visited three districts in Rajasthan to meet people who are supposed beneficiaries of UPA government’s much-touted Direct Benefit …