The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
Mincing no words, Union Rural Development Minister Minister Jairam Ramesh today told the Congress Government in Karnataka that grants for various Central schemes would be withheld as done during the previous BJP regime if it does not deliver in implementing them. “If this government does not change the way the …
With substantial opposition to short cuts in passage, regular Parliament discussion in coming session seems the route The government was neither likely to promulgate an ordinance nor convene a special session of Parliament to discuss its ambitious social security scheme, the National Food Security Bill (NFSB), those in the know …
The Gadgil panel report is a development guideline for the country, says Union Minister Jairam Ramesh The accelerating loss of biodiversity in the Western Ghats is affecting the lives of people in the area, environmentalist and head of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel Madhav Gadgil has said. He was …
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has assured Arunachal Pradesh to consider more projects under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to increase connectivity in this land–locked State. The assurance came when Chief Minister Nabam Tuki called on him at New Delhi yesterday, official sources informed here today. The present …
Union Cabinet did not take up for consideration the proposal After an entire day of suspense on whether the government proposes to promulgate an Ordinance on the National Food Security Bill, the Union Cabinet did not take up for consideration a proposal to this effect moved by the Food Ministry. …
Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development has since inception been providing assistance to BPL families who are either houseless or having inadequate housing facilities for constructing a safe and durable shelter. This effort has been part of a larger strategy of the Ministry’s …
Taking its sanitation drive a step further, the government has revised the guidelines of Indira Awas Yojana, making it mandatory for all houses constructed under the scheme to have a toilet. According to the Rural Development Ministry, currently only 21 per cent of IAY houses have toilets. IAY, launched in …
Cabinet might discuss this on Thursday; govt and party brass still undecided if wait till monsoon session desirable The government has readied an ordinance to put the land acquisition Bill into effect but would prefer to have Parliament enact it in the next session. “We have no guarantee that the …
In a bid to curb misreporting by states, the ministry of rural development on Monday approved changes to guidelines of the Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) that allow flexibility to the states in identifying beneficiaries belonging to scheduled castes, tribes and minorities. Besides, the rural development minister Jairam Ramesh announced a …
The Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act has often been ridiculed as a scheme that has hardly any impact. Many say that MGNREGA workers just 'dig and fill holes,' but scientists from premier science institutions seem to think differently. At a time when the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act …
Odisha will have an entitlement for 3,760 kilometres of roads in rural areas under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-II, which was approved by the Union Cabinet on May 1. Besides, 16,996-kilometre rural roads are also entitled for upgradation under the PMGSY-I. The Centre will issue detailed guidelines for …
SHILLONG: Union Minister for Rural Development, Jairam Ramesh, has cleared a new set of PMGSY works in Meghalaya including 75 roads covering a length of 267 km and three bridges at the cost of Rs 231 crore. The Union Minister, however, said that the State Government would have to fulfill …
Hectic parleys with political parties have been ongoing in the past few months to reach a consensus on the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, so that it gets passed in the current Parliament session. In principle, it is the Manmohan Singh government’s effort at addressing the problems in …
Implementation of MGNREGS works such as water conservation and harvesting works, drought proofing and renovation of traditional water bodies have contributed to improved ground water levels finds this study conducted by IISc, Bangalore. The study on the environmental benefits of MGNREGS and reduction of vulnerability to climate risks was initiated …
SHILLONG: The Union Ministry of Rural Development recently approved an amount of Rs 231 crore for 75 road projects proposed to be implemented in Meghalaya under Phase VII of the Pradhan Mantri Graham Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). A senior government official on Monday informed that the funds were approved during a …
The Comptroller and Auditor-General has found serious lapses in implementation of the UPA’s flagship programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. In its second performance audit submitted to Parliament on Tuesday, the CAG said employment under the MGNREGS declined, funds were being diverted for other use and possible …
This second performance audit of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act by CAG covering the period from April 2007 to March 2012 was tabled in the Parliament recently. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found a number of flaws in implementation of the government’s flagship …
After weeks of hectic negotiations, the government on Thursday claimed to have clinched a broad consensus on the crucial Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, paving the way for its consideration and passage in the second half of the budget session of Parliament beginning April 22. "We have reached …
The government on Thursday claimed it had reached a broad consensus over the Land Acquisition Bill after it agreed to two major demands of the opposition parties, clearing the way for its passage in Parliament. The changes include a clause which would allow states to ‘lease’ rather than acquire land …
In a push to the contentious Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill before the all-party meeting on April 18, the Centre is reaching out to various political parties in an attempt to forge consensus. It hopes to ensure the Bill's smooth passage in the second half of the Budget …
