#rural jobs guarantee programme MGNREGA

[parasparivaar]

India’s Fight Against Poverty

The Indian government runs schemes for poor people.

The Indian government runs a number of programs to help economically disadvantaged people raise their standard of living. These programs aim to provide financial assistance, create job opportunities, and ensure access to basic amenities including housing, healthcare, and education. Here are some of the major projects aimed towards the poor in India:

Paras Parivaar Charitable Trust Contribution For Poor People

From the bottom of our hearts, we extend a warm welcome to you into the Paras Parivaar Charitable Trust family. In our Sanatan Dharm, this Parivaar was founded and is now being maintained by our Mahant Shri Paras Bhai Ji of Sanatan Dharm to contribute to the welfare of the underprivileged and needy people. Because he consistently states, “happiness of maa is behind their smile.” This idea of Mahant Shri Paras Bhai Ji has become the focus of our family’s daily activities.

The Paras Parivaar Charitable Trust works 365 days a year to lug our Paras Guru’s vision forward. We have helped more than 10 lakh Needy, and thanks to Maa and our Mahant Shri Paras Bhai Ji of Sanatan Dharm, this number is steadily rising. And it is the grandeur of Sanatan Dharm that we strive to assist those who cannot afford to pay for their education or who are food insecure.

Because we usually hear the quote “Unity is Strength” in everyday life, the Paras Parivaar Charitable Trust would like for you to join our family. We are certain that if we all work together as a single family, we will be stronger and more committed to helping more people in need. Serving an increasing number of individuals in need will enable us to carve out a large place in the heart of our Maa. So, join the Paras Parivaar now for the chance of a lifetime to make the poor and needy smile widely.

Working hard to boost the lives of the Poor And Needy People would also help us reduce the rate of Poverty and increase the rate of education in our nation. In addition to providing aid to those in need, our Mahant Shri Paras Bhai Ji wants to educate them so that they may become self-sufficient and contribute to the cause. join our Paras Parivaar Charitable Trust and aid those in need and destitute with what they need for food, shelter, and education.

Indian Government’s Schemes for Poor People

1. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY): PMAY, which was introduced in 2015, aims to provide affordable housing for everybody by 2022. Under this scheme, the government funds the construction of pucca houses with basic amenities such as a toilet, LPG connection, power, and drinking water.

2. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA):

MGNREGA ensures 100 days of paid employment per year for rural households. It offers unskilled manual labor, ensuring livelihood security in rural areas.

3. National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP): NSAP is a welfare program that assists the elderly, widows, disabled people, and low-income children. It includes the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, the Indira Gandhi National Widows Pension Scheme, and the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme.

4. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY): PMJDY is a statewide financial inclusion strategy that assures access to financial services such as bank accounts, remittances, loans, insurance, and pensions. It provides a basic savings bank account with overdraft protection and a RuPay debit card.

5. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY): PMUY aims to provide LPG connections to women from BPL homes. It reduces indoor air pollution and empowers women by removing the difficult process of gathering firewood.

6. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): PMKVY is a maternity benefit system that reimburses pregnant and nursing mothers for salary loss. The program provides a financial incentive of ₹5,000 in three installments after meeting specific requirements.

7. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN): PM-KISAN provides a yearly income support of ₹6,000 to landholding farmer families in three equal installments to cover agricultural and household needs.

8. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM): PM-SYM is a voluntary, contributory pension scheme for unorganized workers. At 60, beneficiaries receive a monthly pension of ₹3,000.

These initiatives, along with others like the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), aim to provide a social safety net for the impoverished and vulnerable segments of society.

While these initiatives have made significant progress, challenges remain in terms of awareness, accessibility, and successful implementation. The government continues to monitor and enhance these programs.

[worldspotlightnews]

MGNREGA Wage Hiked For 2023-24; Check Latest Rates In Different States

Last Updated: March 26, 2023, 14:28 IST A person working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or MNREGA scheme (Image: By PradeepGaurs/ShutterStock) The increases in the wages for states range between two and 10 per cent. The Centre has notified a hike in wage rates under the rural job guarantee programme for the 2023-24 financial year with Haryana having the…

[twnenglish]

Attitude Towards Cleanliness In India

India was the site of a long-ago civilization. The state has been proclaimed to be secular. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains, and others exist in India, and they all fervently practise their respective beliefs. It's necessary to raise awareness among people, but even more crucial is that this awareness lead to action. Because the government is taking the lead, it will definitely inspire people and make them understand that cleanliness is not just the government's job.

The Swachh Bharat Mission, which aims to transform how a nation views sanitation on both a quantitative and qualitative level, is the greatest "behavioural change" programme ever to be introduced. While India's overall sanitation coverage has reached 92%, there is positive news in that qualitative advancements are only now starting to become apparent.

Let's start the blog by having an overview of India's History of Sanitation in connection with the Attitude Towards Cleanliness In India.

India’s Sanitation History

Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP)

Rajiv Gandhi, who was prime minister at the time, launched the first comprehensive national cleanliness programme in 1986. The Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan share many of the same basic elements. The initiative was the first of its kind to give low-income households financial aid for the installation of individual toilets in their homes (IHHLs). The CRSP classified the price of installing a toilet into three ranges: up to Rs. 1500, between Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 2,000, and over Rs. 2000.

The below Rs. 1,500 model, for which the Union government contributed 60% of the cost, the state government 20%, and the remaining 40% was to be borne by the household, was the one that BPL families were most likely to accept. Families with incomes over the poverty line did not receive any financial assistance.

The programme also underlined the need for sanitary facilities in public locations and announced that up to Rs 2 lakhs will be made available for their construction. The programme guidelines also addressed the lack of restrooms in schools and Anganwadis, with schools receiving financial support up to Rs 14,000 and Anganwadis receiving up to Rs 3,000.

The first programme to tackle the problem of managing rural solid waste was the CRSP.

Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC)

The Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), launched by the Indian government in 1999, aims to expand access to sanitation across the nation, with a focus on rural areas. In order to enhance public demand for sanitation facilities, particularly in schools, it placed a focus on communication and education.

The TSC programme put a heavy emphasis on information, education, and communication (IEC) as a way to promote sanitary facilities and establish a stronger support network that included skilled labour, building materials, and manufacturing facilities. The necessity of school sanitation and hygiene education (SSHE) as a starting point for creating a wider adoption of these practises was also emphasised.

The project acknowledged the requirement for local leadership and provided incentives to promote participation. “ The GoI established the Nirmal Gram Puraskar (NGP) award in October 2003 in recognition of the significance of elected local representatives (Gram Panchayats [GPs]) in advancing sanitation through collective community action.

The TSC made some progress, but it was constrained by its inadequate resource allocation and low priority. It was rebranded as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan in 2012, and then as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014.

Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA)

The centre started the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) programme in 2012 with the intention of giving every rural home access to a toilet by the year 2022. In conjunction with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan was introduced (MGNREGA). NBA was an improvement over TSC that increased sanitation coverage in rural regions through new tactics, adjusted criteria, and altered targets.

Through its community-led comprehensive sanitation approach, it mandated that government entities respond to citizens' sanitary requirements. States and communities launched sanitation programmes and built public restrooms; several states even created assistance programmes for people who wished to instal private toilets for their homes.

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[deevanshimahawar]

Unemployment is a serious problem among young people. There are thousands of people who do not have any work to do and cannot find work for themselves. Unemployment refers to the situation where a person wants to work but cannot find employment in the labour market. One of the major reasons that contribute to unemployment is the large population of India and the limited availability of resources. In this Essay on Unemployment, we will discuss all these issues responsible for unemployment in India and how we can overcome this problem. Students must go through this unemployment essay to get ideas on how to write an effective essay on the topic related to unemployment. Also, they can practice more CBSE essays on different topics to boost their writing skills.

Unemployment is measured by the unemployment rate, defined as the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force. The unemployment rate for the year 2013-14 in rural India was 4.7%, whereas it was 5.5% for urban India. In the short term, unemployment significantly reduces a person’s income and, in the long term, it reduces their ability to save for retirement and other goals. Unemployment is a loss of valuable productive resources to the economy. The impact of job loss in rural and regional areas flows through the local community, damaging businesses.

Reason for Unemployment

An unemployed person is one who is an active member of the labour force and is seeking work but is unable to find any work for himself. There are multiple reasons behind the unemployment of a person. One of them is the slow economic growth due to which jobs in adequate numbers are not created. Excessive dependence on agriculture and slow growth of non-farm activities also limit employment generation. Unemployment in urban areas is mainly the result of substantial rural migration to urban areas. This has also resulted in a labour workforce in cities. The lack of technology and proper machinery has also contributed to unemployment.

The present educational system is based on theoretical knowledge instead of practical work. Thus, it lacks the development of aptitude and technical qualifications required for various types of work among job seekers. This has created a mismatch between the need and availability of relevant skills and training. This results in unemployment, especially among the youth and educated people with high degrees and qualifications. Apart from it, the lack of investment and infrastructure has led to inadequate employment opportunities in different sectors.

Steps to Eliminate Unemployment

Various strategies and proposals have been implemented to generate employment. Many Employment programmes and policies have been introduced and undertaken to boost self-employment and help unemployed people engage in public works. The Government of India has taken several policy measures to fight the problem of unemployment. Some of the measures are the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), National Skill Development Mission, Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY), Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).

Despite the measures taken by the government, India remains a country experiencing severe unemployment problems. It can be resolved by imparting education in such a way that youth get the necessary skills, so as to get employment easily. Setting up various vocational training and vocational courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students will help in finding employment for youth. The government needs to emphasise these courses at the primary level and make them a compulsory part of the curriculum to make students proficient in their early stages of life. Career Counseling should be provided within schools and colleges so that students can choose a better career option based on their interests and ability. Government should create more job opportunities for the youth and graduates.

[collapsedsquid]

Given the State’s relative neglect of small and medium towns and to avoid migration to big cities, such a programme can cover all ULBs with a population less than 1 million. Since it is an urban programme, it should have a wider scope than the the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA); this would provide employment for a variety of works for people with a range of skills and education levels. We emphasise that it would not come at the expense of MGNREGA but rather the two would go hand-in-hand.

Urban informal workers with limited formal education would benefit from this programme. They can undertake standard public works such as building and maintenance of roads, footpaths and bridges for a guaranteed 100 days in a year, at ₹500 a day. We have also proposed a new set of “green jobs” which include the creation, restoration/rejuvenation, and maintenance of urban commons such as green spaces and parks, forested or woody areas, degraded or waste land, and water bodies. Further, a set of jobs that will cater to the “care deficit” in towns by providing child-care as well as care for the elderly and the disabled to the urban working class have been included.

Another novel aspect is the creation of a skilling and apprenticeship programme for unemployed youth with higher education who can sign up for a contiguous period of 150 days (five months), at ₹13,000 a month for five months to assist with administrative functions in municipal offices, government schools, or public health centres, and for the monitoring, measurement, or evaluation of environmental parameters.

While the first category of work is aimed at providing additional employment opportunities and raising incomes for those in low-wage informal work, the second category is to provide educated youth experience and skills that they can build-on further. We estimate that such a programme will cost between 1.7-2.7% of GDP per year depending on design, and can provide work opportunities to around 30-50 million workers. In light of the 74th Amendment, this programme should be administered by the ULB in a participatory manner by involving ward committees.

Our proposal provides strong transparency and accountability structures — proactive disclosure of information based on Section 4 of the RTI Act, proactive measures through mandatory periodic social audits, public hearing and reactive measures through a “Right to Timely Grievance Redressal” for workers.

Job guarantee proposal for India.

[sanjeev-thakur]

What is MGNREGA scheme?

Amid rising cost of living and decreasing job opportunities, people in rural India are falling back on MGNREGA to earn their daily bread.

What is MGNREGA scheme?

The National Rural Employment Act (NREGA), later renamed as Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA), is regarded as the Indian labour law and social security measure that targets to guarantee people of India the ‘right to work.’ MGNREGA was enacted in September 2005. The above Act was presented by Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Minister of Rural Development and was enacted by Parliament of India. According to MGNREGA, the Act “ aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work”.

History & Significance of MGNREGA

In 1991, the Act was proposed by the then Prime Minister of India P.V. Narasimha Rao. After several sessions, the act was finally accepted in the Parliament and implementation started in 625 districts of India. On the basis of this primary experience, NREGA was introduced in all the districts from 01st April, 2008. The Govt of India termed the act as “the largest and most ambitious social security and public works programme in the world.” World Bank coined the term ‘stellar example of rural development’ regarding the MGNREGA.

Objectives of NREGA

To enrich livelihood security in rural areas by giving at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to all the households whose members aged above 18 years volunteer to do unskilled manual work

To flourish durable assets like roads, canals, ponds and wells

It is required to provide employment within 5 km of an applicant’s home and to pay minimum wage. If the applicant does not get any work within 15 days of applying, an unemployment allowance will be given to them. Moreover, if Govt fails to provide employment, it is bound to give certain unemployment allowances to the people. Hence, it is a legal entitlement to be employed under MGNREGA.

Implementation of MGNREGA

Generally Gram Panchayats (GPs) implement the programmes under MGNREGA. The engagement of contractors/middlemen is strictly prohibited in the programme. NREGA not only provides economic security and rural assets but also helps in protecting the environment, empowering rural women, reducing rural-urban migration, fostering social equity etc. The principles and agencies for execution, list of allowed works, financing pattern, monitoring and evaluation and quintessentially the detailed measures to ensure transparency and accountability are elaborately described in the act.

Women empowerment is one of the greatest aspects in MGNREGA programme. In the programme, one-third of all employment is reserved for the women and there is a provision of equal wage between the men and women. It is also a very good opportunity for the youths of our country. Another merit of MGNREGA is that it develops the bargaining power of labour who often suffers due to exploitative market conditions.

Despite several controversies, MGNREGA can be termed as the best scheme for rural people of India. Thousands of rural people survive their day to day life because of this scheme. One of the major impacts of this scheme is the reduction of migration from rural sector to the urban sector for causal work. MGNREGA not only creates job opportunity but also sustains it.

[sachkiawaaj]

Govt to tighten MGNREGA scheme to plug 'tremendous leakages'

Govt to tighten MGNREGA scheme to plug ‘tremendous leakages’

NEW DELHI: The government is working to tighten the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme as “tremendous leakages” have been noticed in the flagship rural jobs programme for the past two years, a top official said. The Centre has allocated Rs 73,000 crore for 2022-23, which is 25 per cent lower than the Rs 98,000 crore provided in the revised estimate (RE) for…

[divyabhashkar]

Govt to tighten MGNREGA scheme to plug 'tremendous leakages' | India News

Govt to tighten MGNREGA scheme to plug ‘tremendous leakages’ | India News

NEW DELHI: The government is working to tighten the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme as “tremendous leakages” have been noticed in the flagship rural jobs programme for the past two years, a top official said. The Centre has allocated Rs 73,000 crore for 2022-23, which is 25 per cent lower than the Rs 98,000 crore provided in the revised estimate (RE) for…

[vsplusonline]

MGNREGA News: Centre releases Rs 4,431 crore to clear pending wages under MGNREGA, to pay all dues by April 10 | India Business News - Times of India

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/mgnrega-news-centre-releases-rs-4431-crore-to-clear-pending-wages-under-mgnrega-to-pay-all-dues-by-april-10-india-business-news-times-of-india/

MGNREGA News: Centre releases Rs 4,431 crore to clear pending wages under MGNREGA, to pay all dues by April 10 | India Business News - Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Centre has released Rs 4,431 crore to clear pending wages under the rural job scheme MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and will pay all dues by April 10, officials said on Friday, a day after the government announced increase in wages under the programme. The announcement was made at a time a countrywide lockdown to combat the coronavirus outbreak has left wage labourers with no work and financial resources. The government will clear all pending wages under the employment guarantee scheme amounting to Rs 11,499 crore by April 10, out of which Rs 4,431 crore has been released till Friday, officials said. Coronavirus lockdown: Latest updates They said all the funds will be transferred directly into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts. Officials said the increase in wages under the MGNREGA will came into effect from April 1. With this rise in wages, the national average wage under MGNREGA will increase to Rs 202 per person per day from Rs 182. There are 13.62 crore job card holders under the MGNREGA, out of which 8.17 crore are active job card holders. More on Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic: Complete Coverage 21-day lockdown: What will stay open and what won’t How to quarantine yourself at home Trust the newspaper for your daily verified news Officials also informed that individual-oriented work under MGNREGA such as work carried out by beneficiaries belonging to SCs and STs on their own land may continue. Similarly, the work done by women who are bread-earners of their families on their own land may also continue during the lockdown. But all other MGNREGA works have been stopped due to the threat of coronavirus.

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[vocabmeme]

New Post has been published on http://dailyvocab.com/photos/spur/

Spur

Spur

(noun) a device with a small spike or a spiked wheel that is worn on a rider’s heel and used for urging a horse forward.

(noun) a thing that prompts or encourages someone; an incentive.  “wars act as a spur to practical invention”

(noun) a projection from a mountain or mountain range. “it’s an easy walk up the spur that leads to the summit”

(noun) a small, single-pointed support for ceramic ware in a kiln.

(verb) urge (a horse) forward by digging one’s spurs into its sides. “she spurred her horse towards the hedge”

(verb) give an incentive or encouragement to (someone). “her sons’ passion for computer games spurred her on to set up a software business”

(verb) prune in (a side shoot of a plant) so as to form a spur close to the stem. “spur back the lateral shoots”

Spur meaning in Hindi (English to Hindi meaning)

नियंत्रण रखना, पटरी का किनारा, लगान की कड़ी, निप्रह, नियंत्रण, फुटपाथ, अटकाव, कड़ी, दबाव, नियंत्रण, प्रतिबंध, प्रतिबन्ध, फुटपाथ, रुकावट, रोक, सांकल, अपने मन का बना लेना, लगान देना, नियंत्रण करना, नियंत्रण रखना, वश में रखना, नियंत्रण करना, रोकना, अधीन करना

Spur origin

Old English spora, spura, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch spoor and German Sporn, also to spurn.

Spur in a sentence (word usage in recent Hindu newspaper)

MGNREGA may see 30% hike in budgetary funds to spur rural jobs …, The allocation towards Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the flagship rural job programme

Lane closures on The Spur begin Monday, Heads up if you’re driving through the Smokies this week. expect some lane closures and delays as the park begins maintenance work on the …

Record international iron ore prices spur lower grade exports from India, Odisha alone has in excess of 100 million tonnes of inferior grade iron ore accumulated at mine heads; this ore lacks takers in India. More such …

Third generation 2020 Bentley Flying Spur to be unveiled globally on …, The Flying Spur is slated to be unveiled globally on June 11, 2019. And the luxury touring sedan is expected to land on the Indian soil by early …

Next Indian govt seen relying on RBI rate cuts to spur growth, India’s slowing economy will need a boost soon after the current election but budget stresses mean New Delhi probably has to rely on the …

Mnemonic trick to remember the meaning of Spur

spur gear is spiked wheel that is used in gear of automobiles, which ENCOURAGES the wheel to move forward

spur means leg. Kick with the leg to push someone front. A child uses leg to move forward by kicking its leg against a any base.

Spur pronunciation

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[khalilhumam]

COVID-19 leaves Indian tea workers struggling for survival

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/covid-19-leaves-indian-tea-workers-struggling-for-survival/

COVID-19 leaves Indian tea workers struggling for survival

Working means risk of illness; staying home means going hungry

A plantation worker plucking tea in Kerala, India. Image via Flickr by Neil Faz. CC BY-NC 2.0

India, the fifth largest economy in the world, has suffered immensely during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate increased to 24 percent in May, leaving day labourers — like those who tend the country's tea plantations — facing poverty and hunger due to the scarcity of work and the lack of government assistance. By April, many of them were forced to resume work despite the country's COVID-19 restrictions, even though there were not enough healthcare or safety measures in place for their protection.

The #TruthAboutTea

India is one of the world's largest tea producers. Two regions in particular, Assam and West Bengal, together produce over 70 percent of the country's tea. The industry is the second largest provider of formal sector employment in India, providing jobs for more than a million families on tea estates. A startling 70 percent of these workers are women, who are paid very low wages and made to work in appalling conditions. As a result, the majority of them lead a life without dignity — a plight depicted in the #TruthAboutTea campaign series on YouTube by the non-profit Oxfam India. Even before the pandemic, the series claims, they had been living in unsanitary conditions, barely surviving on dirt-cheap wages with little or no access to healthcare and education systems: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTyseduuGcs?feature=oembed&w=650&h=366] According to the video, on average, a plantation worker walks 16 kilometres and carries 24 kilograms of tea leaves every day, only to earn a daily wage of about 150 Indian rupees (INR) daily. That's the equivalent of two United States dollars (USD), after 13 hours of work. Only 87 percent of workers receive the maximum salary of INR 4,500 (US $61) per month. Some labourers work barefoot and only a small percentage of them are provided with protective gear like gloves, masks and boots. Women are sometimes forced to return to work mere days after giving birth and there are not enough well functioning creche facilities for babies. There are also no toilets on the tea plantations, and many labourers do not have one at home either. The human cost of tea production in India is high; deprived of basic rights, workers and their families say they feel like slaves to the tea garden owners.

Limited options

As India entered the first phase of its COVID-19 lockdown on March 25, many tea plantations ceased operation. By April 4, however, the Indian Tea Association had written to the state government asking for the “resumption of normal operations in tea gardens while adhering to the prescribed safety and social distancing guidelines”. Concerned about the economic effects, journalist Pratim Ranjan Bose questioned the lockdown measures, but also noted the “stigma on the plantation sector with respect to sanitation, health and hygiene issues among labourers”. Nevertheless, state administrations permitted some plantations to resume operations as early as April 10. By the time the third phase of the lockdown arrived (May 4-17), tea plantations were allowed to operate normally, even though the healthcare facilities supporting them were ill-equipped to manage COVID-19 patients. Trade unions in North India's tea gardens soon began filing police complaints over lockdown violations, but at that time people were more concerned about the economy than about the wellbeing of tea workers. Harihar Nagbansi, a community correspondent from VideoVolunteers whose family works and lives on the Bhatkawa tea estate in West Bengal, reported:

While the whole country is under lockdown to combat coronavirus, work continues as is in the tea estates of [the] Alipurduar district of West Bengal. These estates are in such far off areas that information regarding the virus has not reached everyone and they are willing to work without any protective [gear]. Quite obviously, the tea garden owners also don’t care what this pandemic will do to these workers.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrLJ1krD06s?feature=oembed&w=650&h=366] As at the time of publication, COVID-19 cases in India have surpassed four million — nearly three precent of its total population. In West Bengal, there are around 174,659 cases, with 3452 deaths; Assam has approximately 121,224 cases, with 345 deaths — but there is no available information on how many tea plantation workers have contracted COVID-19 to date. According to a report coming out of an initiative jointly undertaken by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Indian Tea Association (ITA), plantation workers in these two regions had successfully managed to keep COVID-19 out of the tea gardens until the third week of May. The initiative involved enrolling the workers into mandatory hygiene programmes in order to improve their standards of sanitation.

Workers protest

In another video report, this time from the Madhu Tea Garden in North Bengal, Nagbansi said the tea plantation workers are not being provided with the minimum 100 days of work stipulated in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). With life made even more difficult because of the COVID-19 restrictions, the workers organised a protest on June 29, demanding to be provided with 200 days of work and an increase in payment to INR 600 (US $8) per day: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2KZQ1WEnak?feature=oembed&w=650&h=366] However, Indian tea plantation workers have been protesting against low wages for the past few years without any success.

‘A cup full of woes’

A February 2019 research study titled ‘A cup full of woes’, in which Subhashri Sarkar and Reji Bhuvanendran examine the pay scale of tea labourers, revealed that the Indian tea industry is in crisis. Stiff competition, increases in the cost of production, and the closing down of several tea plantations due to a decrease in demand has resulted in huge losses that hamper the industry's sustainability. Compounding the issue of unfair wages is a myriad of factors, including a lack of interest from management, failure to implement state laws and the absence of effective monitoring by the central government. In the meantime, COVID-19 rates continue to climb.

Written by Rezwan

[iasshikshalove]

Daily Current Affairs 02nd May 2020

ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY GIVES NOD FOR NEW PARLIAMENT PROJECT

The Centre’s proposal to construct a new Parliament building next to the existing heritage structure was approved by the Environment Ministry’s expert appraisal committee (EAC).

The EAC, however, said the approval was subject to the outcome of a legal challenge to the change of land-use of the plot, according to the minutes of the meeting.

The Central Public Works Department’s (CPWD) proposal for “expansion and renovation of the existing Parliament building at Parliament Street” was among the projects considered by the EAC at its meetings on April 22-24.

The proposal was earlier considered by the EAC at its meetings on February 25-26, where it asked the CPWD for additional information.

While reconsidering the project during last week’s meeting, the EAC noted that the project cost, as submitted by the CPWD, had gone up from ₹776 crore to ₹922 crore due to “changes in project specifications”.

While the March notification of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of (MoHUA) changing the land-use of the plot from “recreational (district park)” to “Parliament” in the Master Plan of Delhi has been challenged in the Supreme Court, the CPWD clarified that there was no stay order.

The CPWD submitted that there would be “no significant impacts on public space” and with the entire area being in “high security zone”, the plot could have never been used for recreational purposes.

Of the 333 trees on the plot, 223 will be transplanted and 100 retained. In addition, 290 new trees would be planted.

Responding to a representation to the EAC about the timing of the project in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CPWD submitted: “The existing Parliament building was constructed 93 years ago.

Over the years many planned/ unplanned changes have been made, often undocumented. It is in dire need of retrofitting as soon as possible.

This can only be done once the building is in vacant position and that will happen once the new building is made available. Therefore, development of the proposed Parliament building is of utmost importance.”

The CPWD stated that the project was the “expansion of an existing building on the neighbouring plot” so the environmental impacts would be “if at all, minor and incremental”.

The project would not lead to any increase in air and noise pollutions and the water consumption would decrease due to reuse of treated water, the EAC minutes stated.

Kanchi Kohli, an independent environment law researcher, said the assessment done was inadequate.

“The CPWD’s EIA consultant has called the impacts of the modernisation and expansion of Parliament, which includes an entirely new building ‘minor and incremental’.

This is without carrying out a full environment assessment of the stand-alone Parliament project, leave alone the full Central Vista redevelopment, of which it is a part.”

DIRECT TAXES REVENUES DEFY LOCKDOWN, JUMP 36.6% IN APRIL

Direct tax collection recorded a healthy growth in April despite the nationwide lockdown and grew by 36.6%.

Data accessed by The Hindu showed that the net direct tax collection for April 2020 was ₹34,780.4 crore as compared to ₹25,466 crore recorded in April 2019, a jump of 36.6%.

Income tax collection in April was ₹19,762.1 crore while corporate tax collection was ₹14,608.1 crore.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had convened a video-conference on Friday with tax commissioners to review the collection position during the lockdown period. The collection figures of different zones were discussed during the meeting.

The department noted the effort of the officers in ensuring healthy growth of tax collection in these testing times.

Among the zones, Mumbai reported a massive 500% growth in net tax collections, followed by Bengaluru that reported 160% growth. Delhi, at number three, reported a 34% growth in April.

REVISED TARGETS:

The government is expected to miss the direct tax collection target for the financial year 2019-20.

The revised estimate has pegged the target for collection of direct taxes for 2019-20 at ₹11.70 lakh crore.

The government had collected over ₹7.52 lakh crore as direct taxes till January 31.

BLEAK FORECAST:

In addition, the outlook for indirect tax collection is also bleak in the first few months of the current financial year due to the countrywide lockdown.

Some reports suggest that GST collection in April and May could decline drastically as the number of electronic permits for transporting goods are down 80% in April.

With the lockdown extended till May 17, tax collections are expected to remain subdued.

MAHARASTRA LEGISLATICE COUNCIL ELECTIONS TO HELD ON MAY 21

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday decided to hold elections to nine vacant Maharashtra Legislative Council seats on May 21, after receiving letters from the State Governor and the Chief Secretary on the feasibility of conducting the polls during the pandemic.

The nomination process will be from May 4 to 11, the last date for withdrawal of candidature is May 14 and polling and counting on May 21.

The ECI’s decision comes just in time for Uddhav Thackeray, who was sworn in as Chief Minister on November 28 last, giving him six months to become a member of the Assembly or the Council in order to continue in the post.

The ECI’s schedule for the polls says the election process will be completed by May 26, a day ahead of the May 27 deadline for Mr. Thackeray.

In a statement, the ECI said it reviewed the feasibility of conducting biennial elections to the nine seats that fell vacant on April 24.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora joined the meeting with Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra through videoconferencing from the United States, where he is since travel restrictions were imposed to control COVID-19 in March.

The ECI decided on April 3 to defer the elections to the nine seats each in Maharashtra and Bihar councils due to the lockdown that followed the pandemic.

The Commission said it received a letter on Thursday from the Chief Secretary highlighting the steps taken to control the pandemic and reiterating that the State government thought the polls could be conducted safely.

The State government had assured the Commission that it was fully committed to ensuring that the elections are held in total hygienic conditions with social distancing measures and other conditions imposed by the competent authorities, the ECI said.

Other elections that were deferred, including to the Rajya Sabha and the Bihar Legislative Council, would be reviewed next week.

ECONOMISTS CALL FOR URBAN JOBS SCHEME

A new Urban Employment Guarantee Act is needed to complement the existing rural jobs scheme during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, said a group of development activists and economists.

In a letter sent to Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, they have asked for MGNREGA funding to be increased to at least ₹1 lakh crore for the next three months, noting that the scheme already has the infrastructure in place to respond to the unprecedented unemployment crisis.

The group has also recommended relaxation of the 100 days of work per household limit, suggesting that all individuals who wish to work under the scheme be given employment for as many days as needed, up to the full year.

Given that a large number of migrants returning from cities to villages as a result of the lockdown would desperately need work but may not have MGNREGA job cards, the group suggested that anyone wanting work should be given a job, with card registration made available on site.

Signatories to the letter include economists Jean Dreze, Jayati Ghosh and Reetika Khera, activists Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan and Annie Raja of the National Federation of Indian Women well as Swaraj Party president Yogendra Yadav.

The economists also asked for full minimum wages in cash, as well as dry rations, to be paid to workers within seven days rather than the current 15-day limit, so that the scheme can meet the needs of people.

Biometric based payment systems should be avoided for now, they said, noting that bank account payments would only cause overcrowding in rural banks.

People prevented from working during the pandemic due to medical advisories including those aged over 50, disabled and sick, and pregnant women, should be paid full wages for the duration of the restrictions, the group recommended.

The signatories also urged that rather than stopping MGNREGA work throughout districts declared to be in the red zone, decisions should instead be taken block-wise.

With regard to an urban jobs programme, the letter’s signatories noted that a significant number of migrants were returning to small towns and had lost their livelihoods.

Please click the below link to know about MNREGA:

https://iasshiksha.com/daily-current-affair/daily-current-affairs-14th-april-2020/

GOLD ETFs SEE INFLOWS, JEWELLERY TAKES A HIT

Gold investments in the form of gold backed exchange traded funds (ETFs) witnessed a huge jump in the first three months of 2020, even as jewellery demand took a significant hit on account of the global COVID-19 pandemic that led to lockdowns in most countries.

As per the latest Gold Demand Trends report by the World Gold Council, global gold demand held firm in the first quarter of 2020 at 1,083.8 tonnes, a rise of 1% compared to the corresponding period last year.

SAFE HAVEN INVESTMENT:

The global COVID-19 pandemic fuelled safe-haven investment demand for gold, with gold-backed ETFs attracting huge inflows (+298 tonnes) to push global holdings in these products to a record high of 3,185 tonnes,” stated the report.

The first quarter inflows into gold-backed ETFs saw a sevenfold year-on-year increase amid global uncertainty and financial market volatility.

Meanwhile, consumer-focussed sectors of the market weakened sharply as jewellery demand was hit hard by the effects of the outbreak and quarterly demand dropped 39% to a record low of 325.8 tonnes, as per the global gold body.

LOWS NOT SEEN BEFORE:

The pandemic slashed jewellery demand as global governments imposed lockdown measures. Demand fell to previously unseen lows, led by a 65% decline in China, the largest jewellery consumer and the first market to succumb to the outbreak.

However, central banks continued to buy gold, though at a much slower pace, as global gold reserves grew by 145 tonnes in the first three months of the current calendar year.

Interestingly, Russia has announced it would suspend its long-term buying programme thereby signalling a slowdown in global net buying for the second quarter and beyond.

On the price front, sharp investment inflows helped push the gold price in dollar terms to an eight-year high following which the demand in value terms reached $55 billion, the highest since the second quarter of 2013.

Incidentally, the gold price reached a new record high in Indian rupees and Turkish lira, among others.

[guitarpanda8]

Half-baked efforts at poverty reduction

Sustainable development goals are not being taken seriously. Anti-poverty schemes are not backed by funds or commitment India is a signatory to the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is committed to achieving them. SDG1 aims to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere” by 2030. It is true that poverty has declined in India. However, it is also true that an extremely large proportion of Indians suffers income poverty.

Additionally, lack of access to assets, vocational education and marketable skills combined with high levels of malnutrition and ill health lead to deprivation in multiple dimensions. The Tendulkar Committee estimated that 269.3 million Indians were poor in 2011-12 based on a poverty line of just ₹27.2 per person per day in rural and ₹33.3 per person per day in urban areas.

The Tendulkar Committee estimated that only 22 per cent of India’s population was in poverty in 2011-12. The Rangarajan Committee used higher poverty lines (₹32.4 and ₹46.9 per person per day for rural and urban areas, respectively) and arrived at a poverty ratio of 29.5 per cent (362.99 million) for 2011-12. Official estimates of poverty are not available after this year.

Policy response A long list of programmes and schemes are being implemented to address poverty. The NITI Aayog is the nodal agency for monitoring progress towards achieving all the SDGs and has mapped programmes and Ministries for this purpose. However, whether we view the programmes individually or collectively, they remain inadequate for moving even the conservative estimate of 269.3 million Indians above the poverty line. A few programmes are briefly reviewed below to illustrate this.

MGNREGA The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) guarantees 100 days of work in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled labour. However, MGNREGA is not designed to provide work that generates adequate annual income for a household to cross the poverty line. Data on the MoRD website show that on average, in 2017-18, only 45.77 days of work were provided per household. Further, only 5.78 per cent households received the guaranteed 100 days of work.

A survey conducted by NSS in 2011-12 shows that as many as one-fifth (19 per cent) of rural persons above 18 years of age who had registered for a MGNREGA job card sought, but did not get, MGNREGA work. One explanation is that resources allocated to anti-poverty programmes are inadequate and States curtail targets according to fund availability. There are other explanations too.

Meanwhile, it is important to note that more than one-third of workers in rural areas and one-sixth of workers in urban areas depend on casual labour for their livelihood. If they get work, they earn some money that day. Wages are exploitatively low. During one of many interviews with women in villages and slums to understand the nature of their work, a 42-year-old casual labourer said: “We work so hard but the return is so low that we are not able to meet our household expenses.”

National Social Assistance Programme Article 41 of the Constitution of India requires that:

“The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want”.

However, the Centre’s provisioning for old age pension for those who are poor and are between 60 and 79 years of age is a paltry ₹200 per person per month. The expectation is that States will add to this. The problem is that there are substantial differences in the amount that different States contribute. So if I live in Madhya Pradesh I will receive only ₹275 as old age pension if I am eligible for it because the State government contributes only an additional ₹75 to the ₹200 provided by the Centre. However, if I live in Andhra Pradesh my pension will be ₹1000 because the AP government adds ₹800 to the amount provided by the Centre.

Further, some of those who are eligible do not receive old age pensions due to lack of funds or incomplete paper work. There is no accountability for ensuring that programmes automatically reach all those for whom they are meant. The National Old Age Pension scheme seeks to ameliorate distress. However, the level at which the pension is set is inadequate and will not enable an end to poverty.

Assistance to disabled persons for purchase of fitting devices: Financial assistance for purchase of aids is provided only if own income or income of parents/guardians is below ₹20,000 per month. Support for such aids is limited to ₹10,000. For devices that cost up to ₹20,000 only half the amount will be paid by the Centre after fulfilment of various conditions. While the scheme is important and enabling, support under it is limited and conditional. The problems with disability pension of ₹300 provided by the Centre are similar to those discussed for old age pensions above. Besides, in the absence of education, skills and work, the support provided will hardly make a dent on poverty.

National Rural Livelihoods Mission: This is a scheme with a lot of promise. However, its reach is as yet very limited both geographically and with regard to number of households that have been mobilised to form self help groups.

While more than a score schemes seek to address SDG1, they do not either individually or collectively, commit to providing a minimum level of subsistence to households. Achievement of SDG1 requires a systematic, time bound plan that identifies people in poverty and the challenges they face — such as lack of decent work with fair wages; absence of quality healthcare and limited insurance packages; poor education; and inadequate assets.

The writer is former professor of economics, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi

Source: http://www.xaam.in/2018/10/half-baked-efforts-at-poverty-reduction.html

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MGNREGA Sangrur Recruitment 2019 » Officer & Technical Asst 05 Post

MGNREGA Sangrur Recruitment 2019 » Officer & Technical Asst 05 Post महात्मा गांधी राष्ट्रीय ग्रामीण रोजगार गारंटी अधिनियम संगरूर ने 05 पदों पर Programme Officer, Technical Asst के लिए एक अधिसूचना जारी की है। इच्छुक उम्मीदवार 2 जनवरी 2019 से आवेदन कर सकते हैं।

MGNREGA Sangrur Vacancy 2019: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act Sangrur has issued a latest notification for the recruitment of Technical Coordinator, Addl Programme Officer, Technical Asst Vacancy at 05 Posts. Interested candidates may apply by 10 January 2019. Other details of MGNREGA Sangrur Jobslike Age Limit, Educational Qualification, Selection Process, Application Fee…

[divyabhashkar]

Govt to tighten MGNREGA scheme to plug 'tremendous leakages' | India News

Govt to tighten MGNREGA scheme to plug ‘tremendous leakages’ | India News

NEW DELHI: The government is working to tighten the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme as “tremendous leakages” have been noticed in the flagship rural jobs programme for the past two years, a top official said. The Centre has allocated Rs 73,000 crore for 2022-23, which is 25 per cent lower than the Rs 98,000 crore provided in the revised estimate (RE) for…

[visionmpbpl-blog]

New Post has been published on http://www.visionmp.com/modi-urged-panchayat-representatives-to-spend-funds-provided-under-the-rural-job-scheme-only-on-work-water-conservation/

Use MGNREGA funds for water conservation: Prime Minister to panchayats

Mandla: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday suggested funds provided under the MGNREGA scheme be used on water conservation work for three summer months to curb water shortages in villages and boost farm activities.

He also said human power available in rural areas could be harnessed to realise Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a village-centric model of development.

Modi urged panchayat representatives to spend funds provided under the rural job scheme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, only on work related to water conservation during the months of April, May and June.

“We should work for conserving rainwater. Panchayats should spend NREGA (MGNREGA) funds on water conservation during April, May and June,” he said.

The PM was addressing a well-attended gathering of tribals and representatives of gram panchayats organised on the occasion of National Panchayat Raj Day at Ramnagar in this tribal-dominated district of Madhya Pradesh.

“Every drop of rain should be conserved. This would not only save our money but also save villages from a water shortage. This would also help in agriculture,” he said.

Modi said people living in rural areas should focus on “Jan Dhan, Van Dhan and Gou Dhan” (human resources, forest wealth and bounty of cows) to develop villages.

“In 2022, when the country will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its independence, we should strive to make villages as dreamt by Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.

“It can be done by using manpower for developing villages, Van Dhan by collecting neem seeds for coating of urea and Gou Dhan by using cow dung for producing electricity, bio-gas and manure for becoming self-reliant,” the prime minister added.

Expressing concern over the excessive use of urea which adversely affected the fertility of soil, Modi urged the people to reduce its use.

The prime minister also laid the foundation stone for a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) bottling plant at Maneri in the district.

The Rs 120-crore plant will supply LPG cylinders to Mandla’s neighbouring districts such as Balaghat, Singrauli, Rewa, Shahdol and Jabalpur.

He called upon public representatives to ensure that people in their respective panchayats were fully covered under the Jan Dhan yojana and the prime minister’s life insurance scheme.

At the event, Modi handed over a cheque of Rs 2 lakh under the insurance scheme to a woman who had lost her husband.

He said public representatives should serve the people with dedication.

“There is no shortage of funds now in the country. But there is a problem of priorities and transparent implementation of developmental schemes. Public representatives can play a major role in it,” he stressed.

Earlier, Modi launched the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, which seeks to strengthen the Panchayati Raj system and address the critical gaps that hinder its success.

The Central government scheme aims at making rural local bodies self-sustaining, financially stable and more efficient.

The programme seeks to address problems that confront pnchayats by enhancing their capacities and effectiveness, and to promote the devolution of powers and responsibilities.

On the occasion, Modi unveiled a roadmap for the development of tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh over the next five years. Under the plan, Rs 2 lakh crore will be spent on the development of areas under tribal panchayats.

The prime minister also honoured panchayats for their achievements in implementing the government’s e-governance scheme, making villages under their jurisdiction open defecation-free (ODF) and also smokeless by switching from conventional fuel to LPG.