Demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) inched up in February to scale an eight-month high, after a month-on-month fall in January, reflecting an uneven recovery in broader economic activities. According to rural development ministry data, 26.3 million individuals opted for work under the scheme in February, up 1.7% from the previous month. Demand for the work came from 21.2 million households, recording a 2.4%...
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NREGA sangharsh morcha asks for withdrawal of NMMS app for marking compulsory worker attendance
In the recent week, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has dealt three major, concerted blows to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA): (1) The Budget allocation for NREGA was reduced to just Rs 60,000 crore in 2023-24 (less than Rs 50,000 crore if we deduct wage arrears from 2022-23). This makes this year’s allocation the lowest as a proportion of GDP (0.2%) in the history of the programme. (2) The...
More »Banks eye Rural loan growth to push credit-deposit ratio - Mihir Mishra, Shayan Ghosh
Mint India’s rural borrowers and small businesses owners may have easier access to credit with public sector banks (PSBs) planning to increase financing to these segments, after the Union finance ministry urged lenders to improve their credit-deposit ratio. The C-D ration indicates how much of a banks' deposit base is being utilized for extending loans. The development may help expedite the revival of the rural economy, which is struggling to reach pre-covid...
More »Two Wheelers lag as auto sales surpass pre-Covid peak - Alisha Sachdev
Livemint.com The automobile industry witnessed a strong start to 2023 with retail sales across segments, including passenger and commercial vehicles, and three-wheelers, surpassing the 2020 pre-pandemic levels in January. However, declining income of rural households continued to impact sentiments of two-wheeler buyers, resulting in 13% lower sales during January from a year ago, vehicle registration data compiled by Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (Fada) showed. Vehicle registration was up 14% in the...
More »Budget 2023-24: NREGA, Food Subsidy, Mid day meal allocations cut drastically
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), National Food Security Act (NFSA) are schemes whose allocations have been cut drastically in Budget 2023-24, while the Mid-Day Meals budget has also seen a sharp drop. An analysis by the Accountability Initiative (AI) at the Centre for Policy Research reveals that in the case of NREGA and NFSA, the reduction has been over 30 percent! The budget for Mid-Day meals...
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