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 …
The Parliament will soon enact a National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (nrega). Efforts of the national advisory committee on nrega, the left parties and other well-meaning people have borne fruit. The precise shape of the act is still unclear. But the current state of the debate on the scheme foretells …
when P Chidambaram stood up to present the first full-fledged United Progressive Alliance (upa) budget on February 28, 2005, it was his second opportunity to show words were backed with resources. Interestingly, the finance minister has not only increased expenditure on various development and social sector programmes, and reduced taxes, …
"Independence must begin at the bottom. Thus every village has to be self-sustained and capable of managing its affairs'. The whole troubled question of rural employment and migration, discussed substantially by Mahatma Gandhi, is yet to be resolved or addressed meaningfully by successive governments. The National Democratic Alliance (nda) government's …
the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill tabled in Parliament last month has drawn scathing criticism from the National Advisory Council (nac) that had put together its draft. nac says the rural development ministry has dropped many of the former's recommendations (see box: Serious rift). "Politicians are responsible for the liquidation …
Watching the iridescent roller bird flash in the sun and take off, one might wonder where it is going. What would it encounter on its leisurely journey as it sweeps across ridges of rugged mountains, dips down into fields of paddy, past village ponds and thatched huts, resuming through inaccessible …
This paper is based on the empirical findings from the Supervision Mission of a project funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The mission visited the two project districts from 3 May to 17 May 2004 and conducted assessment on the on-going programmes in Karbi Anglong District of …
A women development programme is changing the face of Rajasthan's countryside Something unique is being done in the countryside of Rajasthan, in the self-help groups (shgs) formed in the villages. Following keen interest shown in the matter by chief minister Vasundhera Raje, poor women who live in abject poverty in …
The World Bank Group will increase its lending to India over the next four years. The bank's executive directors approved an annual target of us $3 billion on August 26 in Washington dc, usa. It will be invested in infrastructure projects, human development and on securing rural livelihoods. Two policy …
the Madhya Pradesh (mp) government is drawing considerable flak over its move to change the state's panchayati raj structure. A state cabinet meeting on July 29, 2004 decided to bring about the first major changes in the Madhya Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, and the Gram Swaraj Act, 2001. The …
The Planning Commission has recently mooted the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana (rsvy) to ensure minimum livelihood to people in the country's most backward districts. As per the commission's latest plans, rsvy will target more than 100 districts. Most of these have been identified through the use of an index that …
A World Bank report on fiscal decentralisation to Panchayati Raj Institutions (pris) has reinforced the argument that decentralised governance in India will not work without genuine fiscal decentralisation. India: Fiscal Decentralization to Rural Governments analysed fiscal decentralisation in Kerala and Karnataka
In 1994, the Hanumantha Rao committee constituted by the Union government came up with a new set of guidelines for watershed development in the country. Later, the Union ministry for rural development issued a directive to implement micro watershed (up to 500 hectares) projects through village level committees. However, impact …
function graph() { var popurl="image/20040731/8-graph.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=600,height=500,scrollbars=yes") } finance minister (fm) P Chidambaram's budget for 2004-2005 is actually the interim budget presented by his predecessor Jaswant Singh of the National Democratic Alliance (nda). There are minor variations in allocations. The two exceptions are defence (an additional Rs 11,700 crore) and the …
THERE is something rotten in the debate on direct rural development funding to the districts (see: "Devolution meet a damp squib"). First, let's look at how the Union government approaches the issue. It is tired of state governments' steady refusal to decentralise real power
June 7 saw the life of Binda bai, a tribal woman belonging to Golkheda village in Madhya Pradesh's (mp) Khargone district, change drastically for the worse. The day had begun on a normal enough note, with her husband Jawan Singh setting off to work in his fields. But the 55-year-old …
the Union minister for panchayati raj, Mani Shankar Aiyar, is a worried man. Even before he could select his personal staff and a place for the newly created ministry of panchayati raj affairs (mopra), questions are being raised about the efficacy of carving out this section from the Union ministry …
