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Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Dhankeri model CLF bags 3rd spot in ‘Aatmanirbhar Org Award 2024'
Ranchi: Dhankeri model cluster level federation (CLF) from Itkhori block in Chatra secured third spot at national level in the 'Aatmanirbhar Organisation Award-2024', organised by the Union Ministry of Rural Development. The award will be presented by Union rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in New Delhi on Thursday. The awardees have been invited to attend the Independence Day event at the Red Fort on Friday. Established in 2018, Dhankeri model CLF has brought together around 3,100 rural women through 246 self-help groups. With a corpus fund of Rs 3.04 crore and net earnings of over Rs 57 lakh to date, the CLF emerged as a self-sustaining community-based enterprise. The recognition comes in the category of organisations functioning for over five years. Notably, 1,695 members became 'Lakhpati Didis', women earning over Rs 1 lakh annually through agriculture, livestock rearing, entrepreneurship, and other livelihood activities. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
The Hindu
7 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Parliamentary panel pulls up Rural Development Ministry for evasive replies on MGNREGS
Pulling up the Union Ministry of Rural Development for an 'evasive' reply to their query on significant dues under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development said that it is 'unfathomable' as to how a specific query of the panel is 'sidelined' and the Ministry chooses to remain 'silent'. The panel headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka tabled its report on action taken on its recommendations made on 2025-26 demand for grants on Monday (August 11, 2025). The committee, in its report on the 2025-26 budgetary allocation, had pointed out that the Centre owed ₹12,219.18 crore in wages and ₹11,227.09 crore under the material component to the workers and State from the previous financial year. 'This accounts for 27.26% of the current budget, meaning that more than one-fourth of the allocated funds will be used to clear previous years' dues. Consequently, the actual working budget for the current financial year is reduced to ₹62,553.73 crore,' the panel had flagged in its report on March 12. 'Take effective measures' The committee had sought clarification from the government on the issue and demanded that they take effective measures to prevent further delays in disbursement. 'The response furnished by the Department of Rural Development lacks any concrete measures that have been taken and furthermore, it is silent particularly upon the existing pendencies under material components,' the panel noted in its report. The panel expressed dismay at the 'same old stereotypical' reply given by the government, which said 'funds released to the States/UTs is a continuous and demand-driven process'. 'It is unfathomable as to how a specific query of the Committee can be sidelined and remain silent and evasive on such an important matter. Therefore, the Committee strongly reiterates their recommendation for the eradication of pending liabilities under MGNREGA through robust measures of financial prudence at the earliest,' the panel said.
New Indian Express
17-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Congress slams Modi government over operational failure of MGNREGA attendance app
The Congress party on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Modi government over the operational failures of the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app, calling it an 'unworkable and counterproductive' tool for digital attendance under the MGNREGA scheme. The party demanded its immediate withdrawal. Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, accused the government of hasty decision-making, stating that 'FAST', the government's self-proclaimed motto, really stands for 'First Announce, Second Think.' Introduced in May 2022, the NMMS app was designed to ensure digital verification of attendance at MGNREGA worksites. However, Ramesh argued that the app has consistently failed in practice, and the Congress has repeatedly highlighted its flaws since its rollout. A recent notification from the Union Ministry of Rural Development, issued on July 8, 2025, now acknowledges these operational challenges. 'It was evident from day one that requiring workers to upload photos from remote worksites would exclude many genuine workers due to poor connectivity,' Ramesh said.
Indian Express
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Why the Centre wants QR codes on roads built under PM Gram Sadak Yojana
Earlier this month, the Union Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) asked states to attach QR codes on all maintenance information display boards for roads built under the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). The first phase of the PMGSY was launched on December 25, 2000, by the then NDA government headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to improve rural infrastructure through road construction. The second phase was launched in 2013. Another component, called the Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas (RCPLWEA), was launched in 2016 for the construction of rural roads in LWE-affected areas. The third phase was launched in 2019. On September 11, 2024, the Central government approved phase IV to provide all-weather road connectivity to 25,000 unconnected habitations of population size 500+ in plains, 250+ in northeastern and hill states/UTs, special category areas (Tribal Schedule V, Aspirational Districts/Blocks, Desert areas) and 100+ in LWE-affected areas (notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs in nine states), as per Census 2011. Starting as a totally Centrally Sponsored Scheme, the funding pattern was modified from 2015-16 to 60:40 between the Centre and states (except for northeastern and Himalayan states). A total of 62,500 km of road length is proposed to be constructed for Rs 70,125 crore from 2024-25 to 2028-29. Since the scheme was launched, a total road length of 8,36,850 km has been sanctioned, of which 7,81,209 km has been completed, as per information available on the scheme dashboard. What has the government planned now? The National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA), which comes under the MoRD and provides technical support for implementing the PMGSY, has written to all states about QR codes. The aim is to get public feedback about the quality and maintenance of roads. Under the PMGSY, all roads after the completion of construction are maintained by the contractor for five years. This is done using a mobile-cum-web-based e-MARG (electronic Maintenance of Rural Roads) system. It is an e-governance solution for managing and monitoring rural road maintenance. The contractor carries out the routine maintenance and submits bills on eMARG. The field engineering staff carry out Routine Inspection (RI) to verify the maintenance by the contractor, and based on geo-tagged photographs captured during RI, the Performance Evaluation (PE) is done based on 12 parameters of Routine Maintenance activities, according to the NRIDA. As a whole, maintenance comes under the ambit of state governments, with rural roads being a state subject. The NRIDA also deploys its National Level Monitors (NLMs) to check the construction quality of roads. The NLMs reports have flagged substandard works under the PMGSY in the past. However, there was no existing mechanism to capture people's feedback about the quality of maintenance. How will the new system work? To enable easy sharing of feedback, a utility has been created in eMARG. A QR code can be generated for each road, to be displayed on the maintenance information display board on the road. The board can contain instructions for registering feedback in English and the local language. 'Any road user/public can scan the QR code using a mobile phone and will get all details of the road. Users can click photographs on the road and can flag any maintenance related issue in the feedback window,' according to the NRIDA. The citizens' feedback photos will be integrated with the relevant Routine Inspection. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will be employed to analyse these photographs to advise on Performance Evaluation (PE) marks. All programs implementing units, while giving PE marks, shall be responsible for checking these photos. 'This way not only will the public participate in ensuring maintenance on the roads but, the photographs clicked by the users will also help the engineering staff to do a realistic performance evaluation. Thus, eMARG will be a more transparent system for ensuring Routine Maintenance for 5 years,' states the NRIDA letter sent to all additional chief secretaries/principal secretaries/secretaries in-charge of the PMGSY of all states and Union Territories on June 2. According to officials, trials were carried out in various states, including a pilot project in Himachal Pradesh. After this, the new facility was made fully functional.
Indian Express
02-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
SECC of 2011: When caste data was collected but not published
The most recent data on the populations of individual castes and tribes in India were collected between 2011 and 2013 as part of the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011, an exercise that followed the Census of 2011. The SECC collected data on a range of parameters, parts of which were published in 2016. But the data on caste populations, other than the total numbers of SCs and STs, was not made public. The wartime Census of 1941 collected data on individual castes, which were, however, not released. Censuses in independent India have never collected disaggregated caste data. As such, the most recent publicly available data on caste populations at the national level are from the 1931 Census, which will serve as the baseline for the caste data that the government has now decided to collect as part of the upcoming, pandemic-delayed Census 2021. SECC 2011 & Census 2011 SECC 2011 was a study of socio-economic status of rural and urban households, and allowed the ranking of households based on predefined parameters. The Union Ministry of Rural Development began the SECC on June 29, 2011 through a nationwide door-to-door enumeration exercise. It was mainly carried out in 2011 and 2012, but in a few states, enumeration and verification went on until 2013. The data, which were to be used for policy, research, and the implementation of various development programs, were compiled from 24 lakh enumeration blocks, each containing around 125 households. The caste census was under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs, through the Registrar General of India (RGI) and Census Commissioner of India. Census 2011 was carried out before the SECC, between February 9 and February 28, 2011. Personal data collected in the population Census are confidential. But all personal information in SECC is open for use by government departments to grant and/ or restrict benefits to households. Questions in exercises COMMON QUESTIONS: Many questions were common to the Household Schedule of the population Census — which collects data on broad demographic characteristics and economic activities of households and their members — and SECC 2011. These included questions on gender, marital status, religion, literacy, date of birth, and relationship to the head of the family. However, the SECC 2011 sought some additional specific details on economic conditions. (See below) HOUSEHOLD SCHEDULE: The questionnaire for the Household Schedule in Census 2011 had 29 questions. They sought information on mother tongue, other languages known, migration characteristics and reasons for migration, surviving children (daughters and sons), children ever born alive, and number of children born alive over the previous year, among other things. DISABILITY & ILLNESS: The questionnaire for the Household Schedule only asked about disability. The SECC sought more details on the nature of the disability — sight, hearing, speech, movement, mental retardation, mental illness, multiple disability, other disability — as also additional information about diseases such as cancer, TB, and leprosy. Specific caste groups The Household Schedule 2011 asked if the person belonged to a Scheduled Caste (SC) or a Scheduled Tribe (ST), but not the name of the caste or tribe within the larger SC/ ST tent. It did not ask respondents if they belonged to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) or to the 'general category'. The SECC sought disaggregated details of caste. It asked for the respondents' 'Caste/ Tribe Status', choosing from 'SC' (Code 1), 'ST' (Code 2), 'Other' (Code 3), and 'No Caste/ Tribe' (Code 4), and for the 'Name of Caste/ Tribe' if the respondent belonged to any of the first three categories. The SECC clarified that 'SC can be only among the Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists', while 'ST can be from any'. This follows from a Government Order from 1990, which says: 'No person who professes a religion different from the Hindu, the Sikh or the Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of Scheduled Caste.' Additional details in SECC ECONOMIC STATUS: The SECC asked for information on housing/ dwelling, such as ownership and the predominant material of wall and roof (grass/ bamboo/ wood/ mud/ brick/ stone, etc). It also collected information on household amenities such as the source of drinking water and lighting (electricity/ kerosene/ solar etc), latrines, waste water outlets, and availability of a separate kitchen, and on assets such as refrigerator, telephone/ mobile phone, computer, motorised vehicles, ACs, and washing machines. IN URBAN AREAS: The SECC sought the names of both father and mother, and main source of income — from begging/ ragpicking to street vending; domestic, construction, shop, transport, etc work; to 'non-work' (pension/ rent/ interest) and no income. IN RURAL AREAS: The SECC sought to know if any member in a household belonged to a primitive tribal group, was a legally released bonded labourer, or a manual scavenger. It collected details of the main source of household income — cultivation, manual casual labourer, foraging, begging, etc — and of land ownership and availability of mechanised agricultural equipment, etc.
